Enough
by Scorpio219
Summary: Hermione has finally had ENOUGH with the current state of her life and decides to change it… When Draco finds out the reason he decides to repay his debt the only way he knows how to. Revenge.
1. The Sanctuary

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Enough: Chapter 1- The Sanctuary

13 Years after the Battle of Hogwarts- 23rd April 2011

"This was your last chance Ronald." With that Hermione Jean Weasley, nee Granger, walked down the stairs, picking up her jacket and wand on her way out of the door, leaving her first love behind.

-2 Hours later-

Hermione sat on a simple wooden bench in St. Mary's Cemetery, her eyes red and puffy, still full of unshed tears. The mechanisms in her head turned over and over, contemplating what she had seen and what her next move would be.

Could she return home and forget just like she had so many times in the past? For once in her life she believed she wasn't strong enough, but what about their daughter; Rose? Hermione was glad she wasn't there yet again; she was too innocent to witness the choice words her mother had said.

Luckily Molly and Arthur Weasley; Rose's grandparents, had offered to occupy Rose's affections as well as Rose's cousins James, Lily and Albus allowing Hermione and Ginny; Molly and Arthur's youngest child to surprise their husbands. Ron, oblivious to the plans of his other half, made his own plans involving the bed, himself, and a more than willing woman, also known as Lavender 'the slut' Brown. The thought of the positions the pair had been in when she found them brought a fresh wave of anguish to Hermione, cracking her resolve as tears after tears fell from her eyes.

Sitting there with her head in her hands, sobbing to her heart's content, she didn't hear the soft footsteps walking towards her. She only heard the accompanying voice "Mrs Weasley?" Oh how she loathed that name at the moment. She want to scream at the intruder: 'My name is Granger not Weasley!"

Instead she quickly wiped her eyes to look at the person who had asked the question. What she saw shocked her; she thought her mind was playing tricks on her. If she didn't have the time turner around her neck she would have believed she had somehow gone back in time, because standing in front of her, was none other than Draco Malfoy.

Well on first look it seemed to be her once arch nemesis, but on closer inspection, the unmistakable bleach blonde hair, and aristocratic look of any Malfoy man was visible, but this Malfoy didn't seem to have as much expectant weight on his young shoulders as his father had.

"Scorpius?" Hermione hadn't seen the young boy since a little over a year ago; she had to admire that the run up to his first year at Hogwarts much like Rose, James and Lily's had allowed this young boy to begin to become a young man.

He smirked; a definite Malfoy trait, "Yes" he answered simply, holding out a white handkerchief, with the Malfoy family crest in the middle; a green and black shield, per pale with a chevron. It had a dragon adorning the top left corner and a unicorn adorned the top right corner, finishing with a green and gold mantling, the family motto of "Virtus Rectum Vires" written at the bottom. Finally, hand stitched in the bottom right corner was the initials "S.M."

"Are you okay?" he asked again as she solemnly took the handkerchief.

"I'm fine," she stated. She paused wiping her eyes clear of the tears, taking a bit of the minimal mascara she always wore. 'So much for water proof' she thought.

"Are you here alone?" she asked glancing around to see if there were any other people around.

He shook his head, "No, Father is with me, he usually waits here though." Hermione was about to ask why he was here, when she remembered his mother Astoria Greengrass; younger of Daphne Greengrass had died a short time after the last time she'd seen Scorpius or his father; at the annual Ministry party. A silence crept over them again until he spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

"Contemplating my li-" she never got to finish as a deeper voice sounded out.

"There you are Scorpius!" Hermione put her head in her hands once again, crying as Draco came into the clearing of the bench on which Hermione was hunched, immediately garnering Draco's attention.

"Hermione?" he asked, bemused as to why his son was stood with a Weasley, a Gryffindor and the brains of the Golden Trio at that. He managed to catch himself before saying her married name; while she was a Weasley by marriage he never ever called her that, the thought of conversing with a Weasley was wrong on so many levels that even this new Draco Malfoy couldn't fathom why after the years he'd suddenly start acting differently to them. But Hermione was one by marriage not blood and she had brains the opposite of the youngest Weasley son, last one for hand-me-downs. Not to mention she beat Draco in almost all tests in Hogwarts, even Potions; his favourite. The only subject he exceeded above her at was, as Draco thought about it 'Quidditch', and considering he'd not once seen her in the air on a broom, he couldn't exactly compare.

The fact that Hermione had beat Draco in so many classes, meant that Draco saw Hermione as a Frie- well friend wasn't the word more like he respected her. 'Respect, yes that's what it is' she may have been a Muggle-born with no magical ability in her veins, for the past numerous generations but her fans and critics were right in the sense that Hermione Granger was the brightest Witch of her age, and more than likely the reason Harry Potter succeeded in beating Lord Voldemort once and for all. The reactions after the defeat of Voldemort had been yet another thing that Draco had scratched onto his growing list of hate for 'The Golden Trio', well mainly the males involved.

While Granger had out right publicly thanked him for him not turning them over to Voldemort and thanked his mother for lying that Harry was dead the catalytic event engineering Lord Voldemort's demise indefinitely, Potter and Weaselbee had ignored those who had helped and had gladly took the limelight that in Draco's eyes belonged mainly to Hermione, with Potter having been the final killer.

After Draco had voiced his question towards Hermione, she sniffed once and wiping her eyes of the tears she looked up at her once archenemy. Brown eyes locking with grey, he mirrored his son's earlier question.

"Are you okay?" She simply nodded her head turning her gaze back to her hands clutching at Scorpius' handkerchief. Draco looked towards his son who looked directly at his father before motioning his head to Hermione.

Draco breathed heavily through his nose before kneeling down in front of Hermione, carefully placing his left hand on her clasped hand running his thumb over her fingers and using his right hand to tilt her chin so her gaze came back to his. The action caused another tear to roll down her face Hermione unable to stop it; Draco swiftly stopped the droplets decent wiping it away, "Something is obviously wrong" he stated softly.

Hermione roughly stood, causing Draco to fall backwards, only managing to catch himself due to his seeker reflexes. "I said I'm fine" she replied wiping her eyes again, turning to walk towards the grave stones.

Draco stood back up examining his hands before dusting off his black mid calf length over jacket of the dust and dirt granules, he looked briefly in the direction Hermione had gone before walking in the opposite. "Father" Scorpius called.

"Keep up son!" Draco said ignoring his son's unspoken question.

"Father!" Scorpius shouted

Draco stopped realising his son wasn't following. "I won't tell you again Scorpius, the mud- mug-, Her-, she isn't worth it."

"After everything she did for this family? For you?"

That made Draco turn to face his son. "You don't know what your talking about," Draco warned, his eyes ablaze with anger.

"Don't I?" Scorpius asked not backing down, "I found the newspaper article… you at least owe her something." Draco knew his son was right. He owed Hermione a lot, his whole family did. She practically allowed the Malfoy line to be continued by simply doing what she thought was the right thing to do.

"Newspapers can be misrepresentative," Draco said, but one look at his son showed him he wouldn't back down. 'How bloody stubborn can one eleven year old be?' "Fine" Draco mumbled stalking in the direction Hermione had gone, walking past his son who plastered on the Malfoy smirk.

A/N: If you are reading this then firstly thank-you; this is my first story, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated, just Review below. Secondly; I do hope you continue to read; I write for my own benefit as it relaxes me and during this exam period I need it and I hope you read and it relaxes you to. It is strange considering I hated both reading and writing during High School. Anyhoo toodles for now. :)


	2. Remembrance

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Chapter 2: Remembrance

Hermione knelt in front of a black marble grave stone, edged in gold lettering were the words:

In Loving Memory of

Thomas Granger- died 13 Oct 2006; aged 54

And His Beloved Wife

Jane Rose Granger- died 13 Oct 2006; aged 51

"Certa Bonum Certamen"

Hermione could hear raised voices in the area she had previously vacated. Knowing it was the Malfoy, she sighed. 'What a change; Draco Malfoy arguing.'

A shrivelled bouquet of flowers sat in one of the flower holders at the base of the stone. She stared at the dead flowers for a few seconds and as if by magic, their wilting state ceased and they bloomed back to their original, lilac, cream and yellow flower heads.

"The trick is to keep watering them," Draco's smooth baritone voice informed, as he lowered his wand back to his pocket.

"I was leaving that up to the Great British weather." Hermione quipped ,causing Draco to give a low chuckle; a sound which Hermione found hypnotic and soothing sending chills up her arms. "But since when do you have an intrigue to Herbology?"

"Well I'll be the first to admit, Mandrake roots can put anybody off Herbology, but it links in well with Potions." Hermione didn't say anything else for a few minutes, so Draco changed the subject; "What happened?" Hermione snapped her attention up to Draco who simply pointed to the grave headstone. "Your parents. I thought you hadn't seen them since second year?"

She turned her attention back to the stone moving her wand in a circular motion and wreath formed at the centre of the gravestone near the base. "After we left Hogwarts, I found them," she answered vaguely, not going into any serious details answering his actual question.

"Why are you here? Crying?" he queried, once again changing the subject. An attempt, which she ignored, and chose to remain silent.

"So you don't want to talk about it? Fine, I take it the reason is Weaselbee?" Draco knew mentioning Ron Weasley would promote some form of a reaction from this particular Witch, whether she would say he was wrong, go on the defensive, or be silent. Either way he'd know his answer. She chose the third option, choosing to remain facing the gravestone, not speaking. "That's a yes then."

"Why do you care anyway, Malfoy? I'm a nuisance to you; a thorn in the side of all pure blood families!" she snapped angrily, standing to her full height of 5'6" under Draco's 6'.

"You know that's not true… you're not a nuisance to me. And by pure bloods do you mean Weasley? He be damned he doesn't speak for the rest of us!" His voice cracked at the end of his monologue but Hermione didn't notice; she had tears coming freely down her cheeks again.

Draco felt a sharp pain in his heart. To see this Witch in such agony was almost unbearable, so Draco did the one thing he knew calmed his mother. Taking her in his arms, he cradled Hermione's head softly, shushing her until she was calm. He stood there, simply holding her, running his fingers through her soft auburn curls for a few minutes, smelling her sweet raspberry scent. 'She smells so good and she fits perfectly to my body,' he thought, letting his mind wonder.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Hermione's muffled call or feel her pull away from him. "Draco?" she asked as she wiped her eyes again "I'm sor-, I'm sorry, I was… um out of-"

Draco shook his head as he came out of his stupor, "It's alright, I was the one out of line. I know you're a married woman and I shouldn't of… taken advantage you, even if was a comforting cuddle… please forgive me." He looked towards the floor. 'What the hell? Since when do I ask for forgiveness? And since when do I say cuddle? Do I care about taking advantage of a woman? No, it's not in me to not take advantage of something available to me; she's the first one I've ever done this with. I'm getting too soft…'

"I needed it…" she said looking towards the ground.

"Why did you need it?"

She shook her head, looking him in the eyes before posing another question; "Why do you care?"

Draco thought for a moment; 'Could I tell her the truth? Wouldn't that make me vulnerable?' "Seeing any woman this upset would make me ask" 'Yeah right!' his head screamed. "But you…" he trailed."Suffice to say that I do care. But obviously you don't want my help, so I won't force it. I never force a woman to do anything." 'Well that's not completely true, but they do end up enjoying it in the end' He thought as he began walking away.

He knew he was walking uncharted territory; usually, they were on neutral ground and he always had some way of avoiding her in situations like this, however today was not one of those days. Draco Malfoy could get away with lying to almost anyone, including some teachers, but there were a hand full of people he couldn't lie to: His Father, His Mother, Professor Severus Snape, the now deceased Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall and the Witch that currently stood in front of him.

"What did you mean?" Hermione asked. Draco turned to look at her not stopping his walk. "Before, when you said 'but you', meaning me?"

The ever so inquisitive Hermione know-it-all Granger just had to ask. During their years at Hogwarts, Hermione wasn't one for gossip, mainly because it had some baring on the Golden Trio, but also because that wasn't the type of knowledge she wanted, nay needed to know; Very unlike her best best-friend or sister-in-law, Ginny Potter, nee Weasley. No wonder she got a job working for a newspaper. That girl was full of scandalous secrets, not just which Witches were dating, sleeping with or cheating with which Wizards, but also had insight into the affairs of Muggle celebrities. In the words of a Muggle film Hermione and Ginny once watched, "That's why her heads so big, it's full of secrets!"

However, the piece of gossip that Draco wished to be kept hidden was one that Hermione needed to know. She chased after Draco, who was stepping in long strides. Gripping his upper arm, she used her momentum to twist her body so she now stood in front of him. Her right arm gripped tightly at his left to steady herself while his right hand supported her at her waist. "What did you mean?" she probed again.

He looked towards her. "You wouldn't answer me," he shrugged, his smirk gracing his face. Hermione looked directly into his eyes as he gazed into the distance and she knew he was lying through his front teeth. Experience told her that if he didn't want to tell her, he wouldn't.

After a few seconds his eyes flitted down to meet hers and Hermione felt her heartbeat increase tenfold. Another involuntary shiver found its way down her body, making her unconsciously rub her arms. Draco broke the eye contact at her action.

"Cold?" he asked as he shrugged off his coat and placed it carefully around Hermione's shoulders. She snuggled closer to the fabric as it brought unbelievable amounts of warmth, and breathed in his masculine scent, an outdoorsy smell of wood. He glanced at his watch before looking towards the sky.

"It's getting late and looks like it might rain later. We should get indoors." Hermione could only nod. "Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?" Hermione was about to answer 'home', but remembered the reason she was out here in the first place, so she shook her head. "Well you can stay with me and Scorpius." Hermione was about to refuse when Draco added "I won't take no for an answer."

Draco placed his arm over Hermione's shoulder, as he stood to her side. They walked slowly towards the area where Scorpius was waiting before the trio Side-Along Apparited.


	3. Guest

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Chapter 3: Guest

As the apparition finished Hermione, Draco, and Scorpius stood outside wrought iron gates intricately designed; the Malfoy family crest half and half on either gate, joining to make the full one as the gates were closed. Each gate post held an eagle holding a shield with a letter 'M' engraved on it.

Draco removed his arm from around Hermione's shoulders, reaching into the inside pocket nearest him of his jacket Hermione still wore. He waved the wand once and an invisible barrier fell before the gates opened to reveal a long garden winding down to a three floor Wilshire County Manor House, expanding seven room widths on each wing.

Draco and Scorpius began walking up the path, stopping once he realised Hermione wasn't following behind. He turned towards her, where she stood staring straight ahead one single emotion written all over her face: Fear.

He stared, wondering what could have caused this reaction. Upon looking back to the house, there was nothing obvious, and then it clicked. "Shit," he swore, moving to Hermione's rooted figure. "Damn, I'm sorry Hermione! I didn't think." He gently put his hand on her shoulder; she snapped her head towards him, eyes locking.

"I'm fine" she said, quickly looking away.

"Are you sure?" She quickly nodded her head; he wasn't expecting such a quick response and so he took it as a lie.

Draco carefully placed his hand on her, lifting her gaze to his before repeating the question again. She nodded tears forming in her eyes. "Come on then," he said as he once again placed his arm across her shoulders.

They walked slowly up the path, all the while, Hermione kept her eyes trained on the path or the surrounding garden, refusing to look at the place that brought so many unhappy memories.

They got to the steps leading to the manor's front doors Scorpius slightly ahead of the pair. The doors suddenly opened revealing a small house elf. "Has Masters' trip been good?" the elf asked, looking to Scorpius and then his father.

"Yes it's been good thank-you Miffy." The elf looked towards their guest. "Miffy I'd like to introduce to you Hermione We- Granger, she'll be staying the night," Draco paused as Hermione stepped out of his reach. "If you could make a suite in the East Wing, the usual things, it'd be appreciated."

The small house elf nodded before turning back to Hermione, "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss." Both females smiled, the elf's being the larger, "You did a lot for my family," the house-elf added before snapping her fingers and Disapparating away.

Hermione remained looking at the spot that the house-elf had just vacated. "You may have a few more thanks before you leave," Draco quipped, taking his coat from Hermione.

"I'm surprised house-elves work for you," Hermione stated. "I didn't mean it like it sounded… um it came out wrong," she corrected on realising her previous tone was slightly on the harsh side.

Draco stared blankly at her before saying, "It's okay Granger." She winced slightly at his tone, detecting a bit of the former Malfoy, before he softened it, "I follow the law to the tee, each elf is part of S.P.E.W, has clothes, has holidays once booked, and extra money at Christmas." He listed as they walked into one of the lounges off the main hall, as Scorpius went towards the stairs

"That part wasn't in the law passed," Hermione noted, meaning the holidays and the bonus.

Draco shrugged as he walked over to a cabinet at the back wall, bringing up a bottle of an amber liquid he looked it over before pulling out the stopper and pouring some into a tumbler.

"Want one?" he asked Hermione, who shook her head. He went towards one of the brown leather chairs near the fire place. "I remembered what you said," he informed her as he dropped his weight into the chair.

She looked confused as she sat on the matching settee Draco signalled to, adjacent to the one he was on. "What you said once, we were discussing house-elves, that time you threw a potion text book at me when I said something about Dobby," he clarified. She looked down at her hands clasped on her lap muttering an apology under her breath.

He took a swig of his drink, "it's all in the past," he brushed the subject off. "Anyway you said you wished all magical beings could be treated the same; pure-bloods, half-bloods, Muggle-borns and house-elves. After the war and our final year, I was given my own wing of the manor, it was my eighteenth birthday present but a year later," he chuckled slightly, "so all the house-elves that served me were given contracts, drawn up by me personally, each house-elf had the opportunity to opt out of the contract like the older ones did or they could work with a decent salary, holidays, Christmas spends etc. and each was clothed they became free yet most stayed, given the choice many said they'd prefer to work for me than have nothing to do. And I soon convinced the rest of my family; my father needed more persuasion to do the same for the rest of the house-elves." Draco had a little twinkle in his eye as he finished looking at Hermione with a wide grin.

Oblivious, Hermione asked "Why did you do it?"

Draco's smile immediately faltered; he couldn't confess that, so he said, "Many things."

When he didn't elaborate she posed another question. "What made you change?"

He lifted his eyebrows to her; "You mean my perception or the way I acted?" he queried.

"Both?"

"Well after my assignment from Voldemort to kill Dumbledore I realised that I couldn't go through with it. I could act nastily to someone I hated, but to kill someone because someone else told you to wasn't, isn't me. When I realised this, I wondered if I could kill anyone defenceless or not, known or not, even those that I was taught were underneath me and I couldn't kill or be somehow involved. I'd witnessed lots of death but couldn't perform the act; watching Death Eaters mercilessly killing people made my stomach turn, even cursing made me feel queasy, torturing people until moments before they died or passed out and then continuing once they were gone wasn't my idea of fun. I was a COWARD; I couldn't even do the decent thing. Many a time when Voldemort set up camp here in the Manor, I sat in my room thinking about those in the dungeons. I walked down the stairs numerous times with the intent to free them, but their screams were so ear piercing that I cowered back to my room. The worst was y-" he cut himself off, standing to walking in front of the fire, staring into the burning amber flames.

When he didn't continue after a few minutes, Hermione stood and walked behind him placing a gentle hand on his forearm, "Who was the worse?" He moved at her touch, walking away from the fire and distancing himself from Hermione in the process.

After another few minutes of awkward silence Hermione, sighed lowering her arm to her side, "I guess I should turn in," she stated, even though it was only a little past eight o'clock. Draco merely continued looking out of one of the windows. "Goodnight Draco," she said softly as she turned the door knob and exited.

On the other side of the door Hermione let a little tear slide down her cheek, "Draco" she said quietly. She wanted to know who was the worse, what the exact reason was that he changed. But the tough Draco Malfoy wouldn't allow him to say. She was going to contemplate it further when a 'pop' sounded in front of her, signalling a House-elf's arrival.

"Miffy would like to say she has sorted a room for Miss, if Miss would please follow Miffy." Hermione nodded, wiping the would be escapee tears from the corner of her eyes as Miffy began walking up the stairs.

-DMHG-

The door clicked shut and Draco whispered a soft "Goodnight Hermione." He continued looking at the door before going to stand at the front of the fire gazing directly into the flames. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear the door click open and then shut.

"Are you just a jerk?" a voice shouted, "What did you do?"

"What are you talking about?" Draco turned towards his son.

"She's crying again, you obviously have something to do with it!"

"She just emotional."

"No, she mouthed Draco, so unless there's another one around here, it's you," he accused.

Draco poured and downed another fire-whiskey before getting another, then, loosening his tie, he sat on the single chair he resided on before, "It's complicated," Draco stated, swirling the amber liquid.

"Just like everything else!" Scorpius shouted.

The volume of the young man's voice caused Draco to grip the bridge of his nose to deter his on-coming, alcohol induced head-ache. Draco was slowly coming to the end of his deadly fuse and was about to blow up in Scorpius' face, when a woman's voice spoke from the door way nearest the bar. "Scorpius, could you leave me and your Father for a moment? I bet you're hungry; your Grandfather's in the dining room and one of the elves will gladly get you some food." Draco drank his glass full of Fire-Whiskey while Scorpius bowed to his Grandmother before silently leaving.

"Mother," Draco acknowledged Narcissa Malfoy, a tall elegant woman with blonde hair unlike the notorious dark hair of the Black Family.

He levitated the Fire-whiskey to himself pouring another drink as Narcissa said, "Your Father and I thought we heard a female's voice."

Draco took a mouthful of his whiskey, "You would be correct," he drawled.

"Draco don't be like that, I just want to talk. I didn't hear the door open again is she staying the night?" He nodded his head, causing a genuine smile to grace his mother's lips. "I'm so happy for you Dra-"

"It's not like that mother, she's here to stay for as long as she needs it."

"Who is she? Was she at school with you? Is she a Slytherin? I thought they were all married or you had no intention to pursue them?" she interrogated seemingly having ignored Draco.

"Yes I was at Hogwarts with her, yes I did say that about the Slytherin girls, and once again, it's not like that," he stated, managing to conceal his disappointment from his mother, who was about to ask another question but he stopped her. "And to answer your next question she was in Gryffindor," he finished, downing and pouring another drink.

You could almost see the cogs working in Narcissa Malfoy's mind, ticking off who the woman upstairs wasn't. Her eyes suddenly widened and she visibly paled.


	4. At home with the Malfoy's

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Chapter 4: At home with the Malfoy's

"No, no, no… is… is it the Weasley girl?" Draco's eyes widened to the size of saucers, losing his eye brows in his hairline. He definitely didn't expect that reaction. "Molly and Arthur's daughter? Dear Merlin Draco, we can't have her here, your Father will not be impressed."

Draco's smile from the original aspersion turned sour, he hadn't thought how his father would react. If his mother thought his father's reaction would be bad to a pureblood, how was he going to react to a muggleborn?

While Draco was in the throes of his thoughts, his mother had seated herself trying to figure out what the hell was going on with her son. Draco's untimely chuckle caused her to look up at him as if he needed committing to Saint Mungo's mental health ward. "It's not the Weaslette, Mother." Narcissa's expression looked bemused. "Hand me downs from Saint Potter? His prize possession, no thank-you; and I am a Malfoy and as you know we don't take or have any connections to the Weasley's." Pausing he added mentally 'Bar the person upstairs'. "But I don't know how you'll react to this…" he paused again as if waiting for a drum roll, "Its Hermione Granger."

"The Head Girl?" Narcissa asked in a sweet voice, he nodded. That definitely wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"The Mudblood?" A masculine voice shouted from the other entry to the lounge.

"Lucius, Father, Grandfather," the three other Malfoy's in the room shouted one after the other by pure instinct. 'Now that was a reaction like the one I was expecting' Draco thought.

"The Mudblood?" Lucius Malfoy, a haughty aristocratic man in his mid fifties asked again, his grey eyes boring into his son.

"Muggleborn Father, and the reason we are all here, so you don't get to say anything," Draco stated pointing a finger at his Father his eyes narrowing.

"I am not having that filthy Mudblood in my home."

Draco was about to retort but was beaten to it. "Lucius Malfoy you listen and you listen well. You will not and I repeat not harm that young women upstairs, or Merlin help me I will Divorce you!" Everyone in the room was taken back. Never in all of Draco's life had his Mother defended someone who wasn't a pureblood; well except Harry Potter, but that was to save his arse.

Lucius' anger simmered, his eyes widening. Never had he known his wife to get so passionate over something or someone that wasn't their son, so in the back of his mind his conscience was telling him he had crossed an invisible line.

"And another thing, I don't want you saying that word in my company, our son's or our grandson's company; do I make myself clear?" He conceited, bowing his head in acceptance to his wife. "Also regarding Hermione Granger, while she is a guest of Draco's here at the manor, you will bite your tongue of grievances and treat her like you would do any other guest; with the respect she has earned from our family." His eyes were still down, but a twinkle formed before he lifted his face up sneering at his wife.

"Exactly my family not me"

"Lucius, she has done more for us than either of mine or your families did." He was about to retort when Narcissa said "Lucius enough!" He muted and nodded as his wife stalked towards him. She took his his arm and led him out, leaving Draco and Scorpius.

"I didn't realise she had so much control over him," Scorpius noted laughing lightly.

"Uhm" was Draco's simple reply.

"Something wrong Father?"

"Draco shook his head "I don't want you saying that word Scorpius, ever." Scorpius nodded knowing his Father had a problem with the term 'Mudblood' and had on rare occasions berated himself for saying it in anger.

Changing the subject the young boy said; "I came to see if you and Mrs Weasley wanted to join me for the evening meal."

Standing Draco answered. "Yes we will I'll go and get her you go and get changed; you know how your Grand-mère is about attire and you have a bit of dirt on the placket," he said, signalled to the offending area near the buttons of his shirt. Scorpius left with a ghost of a smile on his face.

-HGDM-

Once up the top of the grand staircase, Miffy and Hermione took a right turn; the third door on the right that obviously looked out to the front garden of the manor had a sign on the door:

Scorpius' Room

Enter at your own risk

Hermione gave a slight giggle remembering when Rose had asked for a sign for privacy, insisting it was to be pink with unicorns guarding it. She shook her head, children. Miffy stopped outside the fourth room on the left.

The large door opened into a room that had Hermione wondering 'if this is a guest room, I wonder how big the other occupied rooms are.' Straight ahead of the door was a set of French doors leading onto a balcony area. To the left was a door that Hermione assumed led to an en-suite facility, and to the right of the doorway, tucked into the corner, was a desk.

Walking over to it, Hermione ran her hand over the oak finish looking at the view from the desk over the Manor gardens. She remembered the last time she had been here; unable to look at this view, and she felt saddened.

Forcing herself to continue looking around the room, she popped her head through the door to the en-suite. It was roughly double the size of her Head Girl suite at Hogwarts, that she shared with Draco, consisting of a shower cubicle, toilet a rather large mirror behind a semi-big washing basin, but most important was the Jacuzzi style bath tub, which could seat by the looks of things at least four people. Back in the main room, the central piece of furniture was the queen-size bed dressed with a 'red and gold bed spread?' reminding Hermione of the good old days at Hogwarts.

To the left of the bed; the right of the French doors, was an oak wardrobe. Opening the door, Hermione revealed masses of clothes, similar to those that she owned at her own home, without Ron's sweaty Quidditch equipment thrown in; and then there were extra's more like a countess or princess would wear, when going to banquets or going out for a fancy meal to a posh restaurant; there were reds, greens, blues, yellows, purples and a few blacks thrown into the mix. Flicking through the racks, she found an interesting black dress. Pulling it out, the door to the wardrobe closed and a full length mirror appeared on the other side. Placing the clothes hanger over her head, she admired her reflection; sighing 'Ron never buys me anything this elegant.' She took one last longing look in the mirror, stretching the dress so it was covering her sides, before she began taking it from around her neck.

"It looks good on you," Draco's voiced soothed from the doorway. She twirled towards him, dropping the dress so it was still around her neck; the garment flowing with her swing.

She smiled a timid tight lipped smile, before turning back to the mirror. In a few strides Draco was behind her, stopping her hand from taking the dress off. He gathered her hair so it was in a loose bun in his hand, holding it in such a way so that pieces draped around her heart shaped face, leaving her neck clear for all to see. "You should try it on properly… you would look beautiful."

She blushed; stuttering she said, "Draco I can't."

"Of course you can," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver; bringing back emotions she'd long since given up on. "It's your size and the wardrobe is charmed to make only things in your size and that would look good."

"I really can't," she reiterated, unaware his body had become flush against her back.

He sighed, "You really can see it as a present from me," he paused rubbing his slightly grizzled cheek along her neck and jaw line, "To you. A small thank you of gratification for all you've done for me." She tilted her head to the side unconsciously, giving Draco more access.

But as he pressed his lips to the pulse point of her neck, she cried out "Draco, please," immediately coming out of his partially drunken stupor, Draco stepped away from Hermione, a look of horror across his already pale complexion. Sitting on the bottom of the bed he put his head in his hands rubbing his eyes. After placing the dress at the top of the bed Hermione went and sat on the bed next to Draco who currently still held his head in his hands. "Draco speak to me," she said after a moments pause.

"I shouldn't have," he paused "It's against my code of conduct, but I guess that's me… breaking the rules and such." He laughed lightly, but there was no humour in it.

Hermione drew lazy circles around his shoulders with her hand as a sign of comfort, looking at his pale face. Undeniably he had grown; gone was the pointed face of adolescent, in was the adult Draco, smoothed off features slightly callused hands and fingers from writing with a quill, gripping tightly on a broom or holding a wand. Gone was the scrawny young boy; in was the tall, elegant, well toned and built man. Talking of well built, as Hermione rubbed his right shoulder blade closest to her, she felt Draco's trapezius shift as he lifted up his head, turning his mercury depths towards her, as if he wanted to say something.

She dropped her hand to play with a pleat in her skirt, avoiding his gaze. Noticing and knowing that it was a sign of discomfort, he turned away speaking to, but not looking at Hermione.

"I just came to say, if you want something to eat dinner is downstairs." He stood up from the bed looking down at Hermione who still refused to look him in the eye. "It did look really nice," he said, motioning to the dress. At the doorway he turned back as if to say something else. He finally caught Hermione's eye as she looked towards him from looking at the dress, but he only continued out of the door snapping his mouth closed.

-DMHG-

20 minutes later

After a long debate with herself, Hermione had decided to wear the black dress, hugging in all the correct places but still managing to be conservative, with a scooped neck finishing just above the knee.

She walked carefully down the staircase, trying to avoid any unnecessary damage to the Marc Jacob black pumps. Unsure of which way to proceed she did a trick Ron had taught her while they were searching for Horcruxes; lifting her nose into the air and taking a whiff, she followed the smell of Shepherd's Pie down the left corridor until she reached an intersection where both wings of the house met. Looking down each corridor confused, she realised that a home like the Malfoy's wouldn't have a kitchen area and dining table together, but in completely separate rooms. She deduced that the smell at the base of the staircase must have been some form of charm to entice visitors. She sighed, 'Where do I go from here?'

"Are you lost?"Hermione turned around to find Scorpius with an amused smile on his face. She blushed out of embarrassment nodding to his question, "I seem to have lost the trail of the food?" Scorpius raised an eye brow not getting the insider joke, and as Hermione thought about what she said, a connotation of 'Hansel and Gretel', she understood his baffled expression. 'Of course he won't understand a Muggle fairy-tale.' "I'm looking for the dining room?" she said clearing up the confusion.

"Follow me," he said. As he walked down the West wing, she noticed he had changed his clothes; instead of the blue stripped shirt he was wearing before he now had a black long sleeved shirt and black pants. 'He dresses just like his father,' Hermione thought as he stopped outside the door just past the central point of the house.

Opening the door for Hermione, Scorpius allowed her to enter first before closing the door and stepping inside. The large Mahogany table spanned the entire length of the room; nine seats per side culminating with a seat at either end, reminding Hermione of the table at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The far left of the table at the head sat Lucius Malfoy who was mid conversation with his wife to his right when Hermione and Scorpius made their entrance. The couple stopped to both stare at Hermione; well in the case of Lucius, get a sneer in while his wife was preoccupied.

Scorpius walked over to the older Malfoy's. "Grand-mère," he said kissing Narcissa's cheek, "Grandfather" he said, extending his hand to Lucius who shook it in turn.

"Scorpius," they replied in unison before their attentions turned back to Hermione.

Feeling self conscious around the Malfoy's, she straightened her dress before curtsying twice; once after saying "Lord Malfoy" and the second after saying "Lady Malfoy."

While Lucius simply nodded his head in greeting, Narcissa gave a much warmer welcoming; "It's Narcissa dear, may I call you Hermione?" Hermione nodded, dubious as to why she was getting a nice greeting from Narcissa; "Please sit and join us, you must be hungry," Narcissa continued, unaware of Hermione's trailing thoughts, motioning for Hermione to sit next to her while Scorpius sat opposite Narcissa, a plate already in front of him. His back was to the window that looked out on the gardens. Narcissa clapped her hands and a small house-elf appeared. "Drurry will you get Hermione some of that lovely Shepherd's pie?"

"Yes Mistress," the house elf answered before clicking his fingers and a plate of Shepherd's pie that could challenge even Molly Weasley's culinary skills, appeared in front of Hermione, accompanied by roast potatoes and vegetables. Hermione said a small 'thank you' before elf asked, "Would miss like a drink?" He paused before rounding off the possibilities at Hermione's nod "Fire whiskey? Butterbeer? Mead? Wine? Pumpkin Juice? Gillywater? Or Water?"

"I'll have a small white wine, thank you," Hermione answered upon seeing what the rest of the Malfoy's except Scorpius were drinking. The small house-elf summoned the drink with a click before Narcissa allowed him to leave; bowing and disappearing.

Twenty minutes passed in silence as Hermione ate or rather picked at her food, the day's previous events having left her with a surprising loss of appetite. When Lucius stood up from the table, his wife gave him a pointed stare before he cleared his throat, "If you don't mind I have business to attend to; Scorpius, Cissy… Mud-, Mrs Weasley."

Hermione grimaced as he spoke her name with a cold sneer. Lucius patted his Grandson's back before kissing his wife on the cheek. Once again he said, "Mrs Weasley," nodding his head before leaving the room.

Narcissa turned towards Hermione as her husband vacated the room. Noticing the younger woman's face she spoke up, "You'll have to excuse Lucius' behaviour some habits are harder to forget than others."

Hermione looked to Narcissa, "It's alright really I'm used to it… I'd much rather you all called me Hermione or Gran-" she paused noting she almost slipped up, before finishing quickly with a simple "anyway." She picked a spoon full of Shepherd's pie to have a way to recover before having to speak again.

"You mean referring to you as a Weasley?" Hermione didn't answer and simply continued to chew at a leisurely pace; in a way that wouldn't constitute as avoidance but was rather more plainly showing manners at the dining table. "I understand if you don't want to talk to me about whatever you're going through. We have only just had a civilised conversation where one of us isn't thanking the other or brandishing a wand after all. However if you need to speak to anyone, and it looks like you do, my son is rather good at listening."

'She sounds like she's trying to match him off… to me' Hermione thought, laughing slightly in her head. Back in the real world she simply said, "I remember." Well it was true. Many a time during her final year, she had woke from a nightmare to find a recently woken Draco Malfoy banging on her door to 'shut up or he'd hex her'. When she'd finally answered the door, her night clothes sticking to her cold sweated body, the sub sequential conversations were very one sided. Hermione would have laughed if during her first year she'd of been told she would bear all to the one boy who had tormented and degraded her constantly at every given opportunity.

A solemn silence enveloped the dining room; none of the three occupants seemed to be content with the silence, each returning to their meals or taking a sip of their drink periodically. A chipper Scorpius broke the hush "I was talking the other day to Amando and according to his mother the title of Princes of Slytherin are mine and his this coming Hogwarts year, the current holder, a Marka Stott, is due to graduate. All the same, I'm not sure if I want it."

"That title has been in the Malfoy line for many generations; your Father and Grandfather both held the prestige throughout their years at Hogwarts," Narcissa replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But rumour has it that James Potter will be Gryffindor's Prince; and Lily and Rose will be Gryffindor's Princesses and everyone knows Gryffindor and Slytherin are enemies and to be truthful…" he sighed, "I'd rather not have an enemy from the offset, even if James and myself don't see eye to eye as it is."

Hermione choked slightly on her drink, making the two Malfoy's; who had seemingly forgot that she was present, look towards her. "I know James can have his faults gets them of his name sakes apparently;" Narcissa paused momentarily to think of how similar James Sirius Potter were to what she'd been told about James Potter I, and how similar he was to the Sirius Black she had known many years ago. "But if you want acceptance and a truce at the very least, I suggest you talk to Lily, like her name sakes, and her parents, her mother especially; she has the ability to see the good in all people."

Hermione laughed to herself, remembering a time when Lily wanted to go searching for 'Gulping Plimpy's' in the lake district with Luna Lovegood and her husband Rolf Scamander along with all the family when she was seven; even after Ronald had insisted that Luna and Rolf were lying.

"You make it sound like a walk in the park, nobody will let me near her she'll be a Gryffindor and I'll be a Slytherin. It just won't happen; the two houses just don't mingle, they never have!"

Hermione sat thinking for a moment before deciding to interject a thought, "Well as you commented, you will be a Slytherin and if there is one thing they are notorious for, its being cunning. So I'm convinced you'll be able to think of a plan to get to know her. As for it never happening, look at your father and myself; he was Slytherin Prince, and I, Gryffindor Princess. We were polar opposites in a great deal of aspects; he was a Pure-blood wizard, I was muggleborn. Yet for all our differences, we have just as many similarities, but it took us hex after hex, insult after insult and a well placed slap to realise it; as well as a higher force that caused us to live in close quarters for months. Now look at us. Fifteen years ago I wouldn't have even stepped foot anywhere near a Malfoy residence by choice, but we became amicable, not best of friends mind you, but amicable." She stopped her monologue, looking at Scorpius.

He was staring an interesting piece of carrot on his plate, with of what looked to be- 'longing?' before he schooled his features into the Malfoy mask of indifference. He stood "If you'll excuse me." He walked around to the side of the table where Narcissa and Hermione sat. "Grand-mère," he quickly peeked her cheek. "Mrs Weasley," he added before rushing out of the door in the centre of the room.

The door closed and Narcissa spoke for the first time in 20 minutes, "I think you riled him a bit."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked cocking her head to the side to look at the older woman.

"Over the last fifty years I have met many Malfoy men and a common occurrence, which must be inherited, is the fact that they like to hide their emotions. You have to know them well in order to be able tell when they're hiding something, or at least you have to have lived within close quarters with them for an extended period of time. Some witches have lived for so long in the presence of a Malfoy; such as myself and Lucius' mother, that it becomes second nature to recognise their routines and thus, if something insignificant changes in their pattern, it is notably apparent. Scorpius would usually wait for me to finish, or for me to excuse him individually if we have a guest. He did neither so that, and the fact he isn't as well endowed to adapt his behaviour as his father and Grandfather, leads me to believe that something you just said got to him. Whether we'll find out what it is or not remains to be seen."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence, the only noise was the clattering of cutlery as they ate their food and Narcissa telling the house elves to remove Scorpius' plate. After ten more minutes, Hermione stared at a spot ahead of her; the curtains around the door that lead out onto the gardens to be specific, completely unaware that a pair of azure eyes watched her tactfully for an opening. After five more minutes, Narcissa decided to speak up instead of waiting, "Either my curtains are extremely interesting or you have a lot on your mind."

Hermione sighed, smiling sadly, "The latter." She paused briefly before adding, "But you do have a nice home Lady Malfoy."

"Narcissa dear, I've told you to call me Narcissa." Hermione saw a small smile grace the woman's lips and had to admit it was a strange sight to behold, 'A Malfoy smiling, who would have thought?'

"I don't know that much about you, only what I am likely to read in the newspapers, but you seem the type to have a nice home also," Narcissa continued encouragingly.

Hermione shrugged "My house is nice, not as large as the manor, but we suffice."

"But what about your home?" House generally means the building, but a home is what is found within the building, residing within the people and the atmosphere. Narcissa realised Hermione had purposely spoken of one and not the other.

Hermione looked down at her plate before looking back at the doors to outside, "My home is pleasant, I love my Daughter she is pretty much my world, and comes second to none."

When she didn't continue, Narcissa posed another question; a sore subject that was getting right down to the core, the nitty gritty, not the frills that accompanied the subject. "And what of your husband? Do you love him?" Hermione shook her head signalling she wasn't going to answer that question. "Does he love you?"

Once again, Hermione shook her head; but unlike the previous, her head shake was further down cast and her eyes began to well up again. "I know you won't speak to me about your hardships, but I really do suggest speaking to Draco. he may seem like an emotionless shell but he really isn't. I've seen him hurt plenty of times to know that for a fact." Narcissa paused looking intently at the younger women. She couldn't believe she was about to tell this, to this particular muggle-born witch, a member of the Golden Trio, Harry Potter's friend. 'But she saved the family' part of Narcissa negotiated, and that fact stood for a lot more. In the world of the Malfoy's, once someone practically saves the family, you owe them a debt of life which ends only with death of the Malfoy line.

"I and my husband were lucky for an arranged marriage, and unlike most we actually found our soul mates. After thirty-seven years of marital bliss, during which I admit the pair of us have had our fair share of arguments, but we've overcome them. He still loves me and I him, just as much as the day we first fell in love." As she spoke, she absently twirled the Emerald wedding ring around her finger. She sighed, "I wish my son had been given that."

Hermione cocked her head to the side watching the older woman. Narcissa looked back, blue eyes meeting brown and Hermione seemed to be asking a wordless question. Narcissa nodded before she continued, "I was aware my son wasn't happy with the arrangement but I believed he would overcome it, that he would learn to love her. I believed his family commitments should come ahead of his personal happiness, like it had so many times in the past" Narcissa shook her head "And so I didn't stop it; now he seems content to throw himself into the business, his Quidditch career or his family, without focusing on himself, That was my mistake. He and you, if you don't mind me saying, deserve the happiness that you were unable to get while at school due to all that expectation on your shoulders." Hermione gave a shuddering "thank you" to Narcissa.

"So heed my advice to talk to Draco. He will listen and understand what you are going through or at least he might, and it'll help this old lady out if her son would talk to someone about his problems instead of bottling them up, waiting for them to explode on some unexpected person." Narcissa squeezed Hermione's hand in a friendly gesture.

After a few more moments, Hermione nodded again wiping at her eyes. After finishing her drink of wine she finally spoke, "I think I will." She paused momentarily before adding absent-mindedly, "I've never had anyone to talk about it to." She stood from the table, smoothing down the front of the dress. "Whereabouts will he be?" she queried shyly.

"He's probably in his office, I'll walk you there." Narcissa stood gracefully, dusting the non existent crumbs off her own dark green dress. The pair walked towards the door and it opened magically. Walking down the corridor towards the central foyer, Narcissa spoke, "This West wing is the section of the house that Lucius and myself mainly stay in. Perhaps tomorrow I'll give you a full tour?" Narcissa stated in a tone which was hard to refuse. So Hermione simply nodded, continuing to follow the older woman up one lot of stairs, before turning to another set of stairs that Hermione had missed earlier.

The third floor consisted of the stairs coming out right onto a long corridor stemming the length of the house on both wings with many large sash windows looking out to the front gardens. At the top of the stairs, the woman took a left before she stopped completely. "The door right at the end of the corridor is Draco's office, I'm sure you can find your way back to your room later. If not, call Miffy and she'll escort you. Have a good evening Hermione." With that note, Narcissa pushed Hermione in the direction of Draco's office.

Hermione walked to the door. Turning around, she noticed Narcissa had already disappeared, so she knocked twice. Patiently waiting, she heard a slightly muffled voice sound through the door.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"It's erm, me, Hermione," she answered nervously. 'Why the hell am I so nervous?'

"I'm busy at the moment," he paused. "Will it wait until the morning?"

Slightly put-out, she simply said, "Yes, it will… I'm sorry to of disturbed you."

There was no reply as Hermione did a three-sixty marching off down the corridor to the stair case to take her back to her assigned room. "So much for him listening," she muttered, unaware that a Disillusioned Narcissa stood near the stairs watching and listening.

-DMHG-

-On the other side of the door-

"-I'm sorry to have disturbed you." He didn't answer and listened as Hermione walked away from his office, her heels clicking on the wooden flooring, the sound reverberating back.

Draco poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice from the chilling container brought to him by one of the house-elves. Staring at the papers on his desk he sighed. True he did have work to do, but none was due to Tuesday, his first work day of the week.

His sight flickered to those covered in a layer of dust. 'I should just let go, Scorpius needs a mother figure,' he thought, 'but what would he think?'

Another harsh knock sounded on the door bringing him out of his thoughts. Believing it to be Hermione, he said, "I already said I'm busy, I promise to speak to you tomorrow if it's that urgent." The door opened to reveal Narcissa Malfoy holding her glass of wine, summoned from down stairs in hand, a stern expression on her face. Draco knew that look was not good and made himself comfortable in his chair.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" he drawled, motioning for her to sit in one of the green coloured leather comfort chairs in front of his desk.

She sat down eying Draco carefully. "I was talking to that young woman before," she stated in a matter-of-fact tone, watching Draco for his reaction and noting that the only change was his grip on the chair arm. "She is not quite what I remember her to be; she seems to have lost her fierce confident stance don't you agree Draco?"

He hated his Mother's persistent questions that always led him to have to agree with whatever she was saying. "Living the life of a Weasley can do that to a person." He shrugged as if that was an obvious answer.

"Maybe that is the reason, or one of them at least, but she pretty much admitted that she doesn't feel loved at home, so I told her to speak to you because I thought you might be able to help. After much persuasion, she said she'd speak to you and you turned her away! By lying! I thought I brought you up better than that."

'Great the guilt trip'. "I was originally going to have the meal with the rest of the family, but I needed to sort myself out… I did something that I'm not proud of and needed to sober up so I sat here. When she came up I couldn't face seeing her like I am at the moment, so yes, I lied." Having dropped his head during his confession, he lifted it back to look his mother in the eye. "So I'm sorry that I lied, what do you want me to do? Go after her so you don't look like a liar?"

"No." She looked at her son thoughtfully, "I want you to go after her because she needs to talk to someone and I know you will understand." Narcissa paused. "I've never told you this, but I knew you and Astoria never loved each other but I never ceased in encouraging your union. For this I'm sorry. I also know you had feelings for someone else but lost them, so I know you must have gone through something similar, so will you at least speak to her?"

"What makes you so sure she'll tell me? I tried once and failed to get her to talk; I only succeeded in starting an argument. What makes you so sure talking now will get her to tell me whatever it is that is bothering her?"

"She told me," Narcissa stated simply.

"Trust me, she changes her mind quickly." He once again looked at his mother and one simple look at her face showed him she wasn't going to back down. 'So that's where Scorpius gets his stubborn behaviour from.' "You're not going to give up on this one, are you?" Seeing a shake of her head, Draco sighed. "If I try and she doesn't play along will you leave it be?"

Narcissa contemplated her answer; she didn't know the intricate workings of Hermione Weasley's mind apart from the fact that she puts everybody else's satisfaction before her own, but she did know her son's and the truth was he'd find some way out of this situation. So she gave the only answer she could…


	5. The Truth

A/N: I'm currently looking for a Beta for this story- send me a PM or review if you're intrigued and please read my A/N below. Thanks.

Warnings: This Chapter contains language that is unbecoming of a Lady- and is not to be repeated by younger audiences.

Warning: Also there are scenes of nudity and scenes that some viewers may find disturbing.

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Chapter 5: The Truth

After having no success in being able to express her views and to tell her story to Draco, Hermione made her way to her guest suite, taking off her heels she plodded out of the French windows onto the balcony overlooking the Malfoy estate's large five acre expanse of gardens.

Stepping out to look at the navy blue sky with twinkling stars, the whole scene looked to be holes in a dark material where a light was shining through. She barely felt the fresh but bitter cold air numbing her bare toes. Being here, able to look at the sky reminded her of Hogwarts and during her seventh year as head girl, she had had the added benefit of a balcony, unlike the original head boy/girl rooms within each of the House dormitories that had housed the extra students who had missed their seventh year due to the Second Wizarding War.

Head Boy and Head Girl, Draco and Hermione were given the benefit of a joint dormitory together sharing a bathroom as the Prefects' bathroom was too far away for them to amble to every day. The dorm consisting of a small lounge area, two bedrooms, each with a double size bed and an adjoining bathroom, a joint balcony, as well as the usual items found in the other House Dormitories of Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry.

Staring at the night sky, she made a few decisions. She was starting a fresh in the romance department, she was divorcing Ronald Weasley. _'It shouldn't be a hard job we didn't use any Wizarding bonds and as such, I only needed proof of infidelity. Easy.'_ So that left her having to find a new home. _'Either that, or burn the sheets off the bed to get rid of any evidence of their tryst.' _

After setting her plans onto her to-do list, she began thinking of memories they'd shared over the years; from first year and the troll, to the most current event; finding him in bed with _'A Bitch, man eating, man-stealing whore, who will Fuck any man who is alive.'_ Whisking through the memories made her lose track of time and a cold breeze woke her from her day-dreams. _'Time to turn into bed its late'_ turning around she found an unexpected and frankly unwanted sight of Draco Malfoy leaning against the door frame with a blank face. _'Fuck'_ she thought, knowing he could have seen everything she was thinking with him being an accomplished Legilimens.

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough."

"What do you want?"

"To talk," he stated as if that would be the only reason he was there.

"I have nothing to talk about." She tried to muscle her way past him but he blocked her way, his imposing figure a better door than a window.

"I think you do… you need to talk about whatever is on your mind."

"No I don't!" she shouted poking his chest, "I didn't have anything on my mind!" she lied before adding "And if I wanted to talk I'd talk… Now move out of my way!" She once again attempted to barge past him by using more force. He grabbed her wrist in a death lock and adjusted his footing to stay vertically upright, sneering down at her.

"This isn't about wanting to talk about this, its about needing to talk," he snarled, "When you weren't thinking a moment ago, your grip on the railing increased suggesting you were willing a bad thought or memory away, so why don't you tell me what happened?" he finished roughly letting go of her wrist moving back into the room.

"Why do you care if I'm happy or not Draco?" she asked looking to his still silhouette in the darkness of the room, rubbing at her wrists to get the circulation working again. When he didn't answer, she got annoyed "Why Draco?" she asked loudly walking over to him, "Is it because you don't actually care, you are just doing your mothers bidding? What happened to you being busy anyway?" she added on remembering why she wasn't up in his office discussing this topic.

"I lied okay! Is that what you wanted to hear?-"

"Oh how bloody Slytherin of you, I should have expected as much-"she interrupted before he did the same to her.

"You don't listen to yourself do you? You are so high and mighty, so opinionated, so stubborn! I lied because I couldn't face you after my despicable behaviour earlier; gentlemen don't act like that! I was brought up better than th-"

"Gentlemen? Ha don't make me laugh, all men are the same, want what they can't have! Typical behaviour."

"Seriously, if you didn't interrupt, you might be able to get the full picture! I'm trying to explain why I did what I did." He held up his hand to stop her retort before turning away from her. "And you just keep interrupting me! I'm surprised the Weasel hasn't given up on you with your mood swings." That was the final straw for Hermione. Spinning him around, he barely had time to register the palm aimed right for his left cheek until the slapping sound reverberated off the walls.

"Get out!" she shouted, pointing to the door.

Holding his cheek. Draco stood defiantly a new fire in his eyes, "That's the Hermione I want to see back; the one with a spark not afraid to stand up for herself no matter who she is up against. Hit me again if you want to release your frustration," he said, grabbing her upper arms to bring her closer to his body. She brought her hand up to take another swing. Draco waiting calmly for the hit, but it didn't come. Hermione had stopped mid way and instead, dropped her whole body towards Draco. Her hands in between them, fist curled up as she bawled her eyes out. Draco cautiously wrapped his arms around her loosely.

"Why did he do it?" she chanted over and over, hitting his firm chest again and again, the tears streaming down her face. Draco to pulled her more fully against him in an awkward hug.

"Because he's an arsehole? An idiot? Mentally deranged? Weaselbee?" he offered, still not knowing what Weasley had actually done.

"But I gave him so much!" she sobbed, "I knew he would do it again, but my bloody morals."

"Hermione, what did he actually do?" he asked leaning slightly away from her so he could see her face.

"Where to begin?" she pulled away from him fully, walking to sit on the foot of the bed, "Oh I know, the part where I found my husband rutting like a rabbit with his mistress in our bed?" Draco sat next to her "Or the time when our Daughter was downstairs or the time when she was in her room next door? At least they thought to cast a silencing charm," she drawled sarcastically.

"While your daughter was in the house?" Draco asked shocked. Over the years his Father had told him of mistresses and how the Malfoy men are proud to have a wife and no decent man would willingly sleep with another woman while still being married.

He mentioned that many Wizard's had been known to keep them, but everyone knew the rules; "even if you don't play the game, you know the rules" was what his father had told him. It was a tradition. The rules were passed down from generation to generation, from England to Australia and back around. Every Wizard knew that the first rule was not to do it in the martial bed and, most importantly, children were not to be present in the house. He shook his head 'Weaselbee has reached an all time low.'

"Well technically, I didn't catch them in the act when Rose was in the house, but nobody sits that close on a bed, flushed, with the distinct smell of sex in the air. Not to mention they were apparently talking about Quidditch and memories of Hogwarts at the same time, hence the reason Ron had no shirt on, as he claimed to be showing her how he still had his Quidditch muscles from playing for the Cannons."

"You don't have to answer this, but is it always the same woman? And what happened tonight?"

Hermione nodded, "Always the same woman, though that doesn't take the pain of the betrayal away." She wiped a stray tear away. "It might be easier to show you, I don't think I'll be able to get through the whole story without crying my eyes out."

He nodded, snapping his fingers. The House-elf Miffy appeared before them. "How's can Miffy be of service Master Draco?"

"Miffy, can you pop to my office and get me my Pensieve, the personal one not the business one." Miffy nodded before disappearing and then reappearing holding a shallow basin.

Draco carefully levitated the desk to the foot of the bed with a quiet, "Wingardium Leviosa," so that the basin could be placed on top of it. "That will be all Miffy," he stated, looking back at Hermione, as the House-elf once again disappeared out of sight. "Do you know the spell to remove the memory?"

Hermione nodded, placing her wand to her temple, extracting a sliver of a memory before placed it in the silvery substance; a slightly cloudy liquid in appearance within the rune carved basin. The pair both entered the memory, as if looking from the outside of a house in.

-HGDM-

Draco and Hermione landed gracefully into the memory. _"Ginny and I had a surprise for our husbands the night that this memory takes place, so we were dropping the children off at Molly and Arthurs,"_ Hermione told him as the world around them solidified.

The memory showed Hermione and a red-headed girl walking up to a house. The name plate said _'The Burrow'_. They entered the house after an over-excited Mrs Weasley answered the door, giving them each a hug and a kiss.

"Mum why am I going to Nana's?" Rose asked once Molly had busied herself in the kitchen, unable to hear the mother and daughter.

"Because me and your father are having a quite night in."

"You are?" Rose had a strange glint in her eye.

"Yes is that a problem?"

Rose shook her head and as Hermione went to go upstairs, her daughter spoke "Make sure you get back quickly." Hermione looked at Rose strangely due to her cryptic message. "You don't want to keep him waiting," Rose clarified, turning away from her mum.

_"I think your daughter knows something," Draco said, "And she just lied. She does that scrunching up of the nose you used to do when you lied and she didn't look at you, you still do that while lying." _

_The pair followed the memory Hermione up the stairs entering seconds behind memory Hermione._

"Hey 'Mione," Ginny said, looking in the reflection of the mirror as she was doing her mascara, "Finished." She spun round on the stool she was sitting on to face a furrowed brow Hermione. "What's up with the face?"

Shaking her head, Hermione sat on the bed she used to use on visits to _'The Burrow'_ during the summers. "Uh nothing, just something Rosie said." She shook her head again to get rid of the thought. "So what are you going to do to me?"

Ginny smiled doubled like the cat that got the cream, "Firstly sexy underwear!" _Draco looked towards the Hermione who could actually hear him, dying to ask 'Are you wearing them?' but he wasn't a teenager anymore and seeing her blush as she continued to watch the memory, he realised his answer. _

"Wait, before you say anything hear me out… if you feel sexy, you're more likely to act sexy and who knows what'll lead to," Ginny finished quirking her eye brows. "Secondly," Ginny continued before Hermione could get her six pence in, "I found a new spell that can tame those wild bushy curls of yours and I'm going to apply a bit of make-up to bring out your eyes and cheeks." Observer Hermione shook her head thinking, _'I'm just her Barbie Doll sometimes.'_

"I know what your "a bit of make-up" insinuates so I'll limit you to my usual. I refuse to be caked from head to toe..." Ginny considered her, moving her head from side to side in thought, "...like a whore" Ginny relented nodding her head in acceptance. Hermione wearing too much make-up would look like she was trying too hard. "And while we are on the subject of ladies of the night, I refuse to wear any outfit that screams any of the following: "I'm easy", "I want you, now" or "If you want it, I'm giving it for free" or any other clothes puns I can think of that are along those lines."

Draco sniggered, watching the scene in front of him and the face on the Weaslette was amusing. He'd never really seen Hermione interacting with anyone else unless he was there, and it was refreshing to see her so open; she was usually reserved in her opinions unless she was speaking to him, and as he thought on, he felt a slight pang of something, he wanted to be the only one who brought out that side of her.

A sharp elbow to the rib brought him out of his thoughts to a Hermione with her hands now on her hips. "What? it was funny!" He smiled as he turned back to the memory.

"So you want to look like a nun?" Ginny was asking back in the memory, her frown much more prominent. "Come on 'Mione live a little! You're 30 years young!" _'31' Hermione remembered thinking._ "Yet you act like you're a seventy year old or some pre-teen virgin who doesn't want to lose her virginity and in case you're unaware, unless Rose was an immaculate conception or the next chosen one you're too late!" it was Hermione turn to frown.

"I'm quite aware of the laws of nature Ginevra and versed in the art of sex." 'Okay not well versed, but you don't have to be,' she added mentally, before the two girls stared at each other intently.

_"What are you waiting for?" Draco asked pointing to the memory Hermione and Ginny._

_"For the other one to crack. Instead of arguing, we tend to just stare each other out. Once one of us looks away they lose." Hermione held up her hand as Draco was about to say something. "It's childish, I know, but you don't want everyone to know that you're arguing so we have a silent battle of wills."_

"Actually it's quite smart. It keeps people away from your business."

"You're not going to back down are you?" Ginny asked back in the memory.

Shaking her head, Hermione answered with a one syllable word "No", without taking her eyes off Ginny. After a few short minutes, Ginny muttered something under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said fine you win if we can compromise." Ginny was determined not to go down without a fight."

"What did you have in mind" Hermione asked steepling her fingers together, much like she did at work before leaning forward.

Ginny smiled, "Number one; the outfit or dress to be specific, isn't like a sock covering you from head to toe."

"But no showing of thigh."

"Only if all arms are present."

"Under a cardigan."

"Deal!" Ginny smiled. Usually she'd not even get the dress in there and there was no mention of neck line. "Number two; matching shoes, with a heel"

"Not too much of a heel, an inch at most"

"You aren't giving me much to work with here..." at Hermione's pointed stare Ginny sighed "Okay, a one inch limit. Finally make up. I was thinking a bit of gold eye shadow, eye-liner and mascara; it'll make your eyes stand out and a bit of blush, foundation obviously..." she paused before continuing in a sing song voice "'cause you know what they say healthy looking skin all the way, keeps mad diseases out of the way."

"Who says that?" Hermione asked sniggering behind her hand.

"What? It was a spur of the moment thing," Ginny said shrugging, causing both girls to laugh out aloud.

_Draco smiled watching Hermione and Ginny's interactions; it made Hermione seem like she had another side to her that only certain people were privy to and it brought up a feeling of being one of those and also dare he think, a Weasley as acceptable company?_

"Well back on subject," Hermione said after calming herself down, "I'd prefer the Au Natural look."

"You really don't give a flying snitch about giving me a challenge do you?" Shaking her head, Ginny stood up off the stool and walked over to her bed side table getting out her wand.

Hermione stood up off the bed she had placed herself on and stood in the centre of the smallish room between the two beds. With a flick of her wand Ginny had transfigured Hermione's jeans and t-shirt into a knee length, floral patterned, baby blue summer dress, with thin straps holding it on Hermione's frame. For over the top she transfigured a towel into a white cotton cardigan, and the outfit was bottomed with a pair of white sandals transfigured from Hermione's original sensible leather shoes.

Another flick of her wrist and Hermione's slightly bushy nest transformed into soft caramel ringlets cascading down Hermione's back.

Sitting on the stool, Hermione admired her new hair style in the mirror and thus failed to see Ginny place her wand away and pull out a wash bag. "Turn around," Ginny ordered.

Hermione used the reflection to look at Ginny, "Where's your wand?" she asked spinning around.

"I put it away, make-up is not my speciality with a wand; you have to be too precise." She wiggled the bag, "And not to mention this way is much more fun."

Grumbling to herself about the trouble she goes through to look nice, Hermione allowed Ginny to add the mascara, eye-liner and minimal blush to her porcelain face, managing to flinch only a record number of three times in the beginning.

"One Au Natural look," Ginny stated, spinning the stool around so Hermione could once again admire herself in the mirror. "If he doesn't fall over himself for you, there is something obviously wrong with him."

Hermione replied with a sheepish smile, 'Oh I really hope he likes it!'

Spinning the stool back around, Ginny pushed at Hermione's back to make her stand. The brunette turned back to ask her what she was doing but Ginny beat her to it, "Now go get him Tiger!" she finished with her hands out like claws and "grrring."

Hermione smiled before mimicking Ginny's actions and joking "I'm a Lion". She growled before pretending to stalk her prey out of the door, all the while chuckling to herself.

_Hermione blushed looking at Draco, who had his infamous smirk plastered on his face. "I know I'm childish."_

_Draco gave a low chuckle before leaning into Hermione's ear and saying, "If you're a Lion that means I'm a snake" he finished, hissing in her ear, causing an involuntary shiver to go down Hermione's spine. 'I can't believe I find that sexy', she thought as he stepped back to his original place._

Rose and Hermione walked silently to the front door of 'The Burrow' until Hermione stopped at the door, "Don't you be too much trouble for your grandparents Rosie and don't you be showing off any magic. The last thing we need is the Ministry swarming in and your Uncle Harry having to do damage control."

"I won't mum. I'm not that daft," she huffed indignantly, folding her arms over her chest.

"I know," Hermione smiled caressing Roses' curly hair. "I'll see you tomorrow Rosie," Hermione muffled as she kissed the top of her Daughter's head, before opening and stepping out of the door, still facing the abode she apparited out of sight with a small 'pop'.

The two Hermione's and Draco landed with a thump in the front garden of the Weasley-Granger's detached household. The house was situated not too far away from 'The Burrow' in a semi-rural part of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon.

As soon as Hermione had entered the house, she relieved herself of her cardigan, placing it on the coat rack before bee-lining for the kitchen. Turning on the gas stove, she placed a pan of water on it for it to come to the boil. While the pan was heating the water she began chopping some tomatoes when a sound echoed from upstairs making her nick her thumb with the knife, Running her thumb under the tap, she listened for any other noises upstairs and just as she was drying off her thumb a bigger thud sounded.

Intrigued, Hermione pulled out her vine 10 ¾" Dragon Heart string wand, quickly bandaging up her cut; a skill she developed while the Golden Trio were out looking for the Horcruxes' of Lord Voldemort. Once finished she looked at the clock above the doorway, reading the time as 5:05pm. "Ron said he wasn't going to be back until at least 6 O'clock," she muttered, her eye brows made into a frown.

Walking quietly to the bottom of the stair case, she listened intently for the noise again; a sound of wood hitting a plaster board could be heard. Climbing the stairs, the noise became louder and more frequent. The twelfth step creaked, causing Hermione to pause. The sounds still didn't stop and seemed to be now joined by human noises, distinguishable as grunts, groans and moans and the occasional coherent sentence of "Yes, yes, yes oh right there" or "Oh your so good to me Won-Won."

Hermione immediately realised that the only door along the corridor that was ajar was their bedroom. She crept slowly towards it and opened it enough to insure she could easily get her head around it. The sight that came into view was one that she would have trouble forgetting.

On the bed was her husband; Ronald Bilius Weasley, naked and underneath him was the equally naked Lavender Brown. The pair joined literally at the hip continued to move in synch, unaware that Hermione stood in the doorway.

_Draco saw memory Hermione gasp lightly and cover her mouth her face, deathly pale in colour. The look she had as she turned away from the sight before her was enough to make even the toughest of men cry. The look of abstract horror and betrayal was undeniable. He turned to his accompanying Hermione, who currently was looking elsewhere, and she too had a look of horror. The small tears in her eyes caused his heart to break that little bit more.  
_

In order to make her presence be known, Hermione slammed the door open and a baffled Ron looked up to see what had caused the racket and disrupted his rhythm. What he saw made him forget his previous actions.

Hermione turned back to face him with a new emotion clear on her face; an emotion of pure unhindered rage. Her face contorted into one nobody had ever seen on Hermione Granger, ever. Her nostrils flared, her eyes wide; there was no mistaking she was livid.

"Herms," Ron tried to sooth. _'Oh how I hate that nickname,'_ she thought as her hair crackled like electricity from the whirl of magic consuming her body from head to toe. "It's not what it looks like."

Hermione started laughing, not a humorous laugh; it was a blood curdling cackle to rival even that of Bellatrix Lestrange herself. "Don't you dare insult my intelligence Ronald!" she warned, "It isn't what it looks like?" She then asked gobsmacked, "What is it supposed to look like? Wait let me guess it was an accident, she tripped and fell on top of you while you were both naked? Hmm?" her voice had become shrill throughout her questions making the hairs on the back of everyone's neck stand on end; including Draco.

Lavender decided that now was the time to speak up, from still underneath Ron; "I'm sorry Hermione," she said trying to hide her modesty.

"Save it you… whore, man-stealing home wrecker!" Hermione shouted before turning on her heel and walking away from the room.

"Herms!" Ron shouted attempting to put on his pants. He put his finger to his lips to make sure Lavender didn't say anymore.

"Save it Ronald, I've had enough!" She continued towards the stairs.

"Give me one more chance, Herms?" Ron asked as he grabbed her arm before she was able to get down the stairs, throwing her wand down the flight.

"Relashio!" Hermione said motioning her unoccupied arm in Ron's direction to knock him away from her.

She finished him off with a stinging hex to the genitals before saying, "This was your last chance Ronald!" With that Hermione Jean Weasley, nee Granger, walked down the stairs, picking up her jacket and wand on her way out of the door leaving, her first love behind.

-DMHG-

Draco and Hermione pulled out of the memory landing softly on the guest bed. "So that's how you found me earlier. Now you know my story, you can leave and stop pretending like you care," she said curtly, standing and walking back out onto the balcony. "You know where the door is," she called over her shoulder.

Hermione casually lent on the balcony looking at the patio area below when she felt another weight on the rail to her right hand side.

"I don't know how many times in the last twenty or so years I have actually said this, but Ron Weasley is stupid and ignorant. I used to think Longbottom was bad but he at least grew out of it." When she didn't answer or even acknowledge that he had said something, he sighed, "What man in his right mind would throw away a wife as beautiful caring and loving as you?" She was still looked away from him.

"I know I wouldn't, especially for a slut like Lavender Brown. I know they had something in Sixth year. I assumed he was just in it for the sex, and seems he still is."

Hermione's head dropped causing her hair to fall in her eyes hiding the tears from Draco. "I should have expected him to cheat on me. He might be in it with Lavender for the sex or he could actually love her?"

"He doesn't deserve you, you know" he stated matter-of-factly. Before he realised what she had just said; "What do you mean you should have expected it?"

"The only reason we married in the first place was Rosie, and she's the same reason we are still together." She paused look to Draco to gauge his reaction. "Have you ever found it strange that during our final year I wasn't with Ron, and he never once came to visit me? I mean Harry was able to see Ginny all the time, yet Ron never came to see me?" When he shrugged she continued, "Well I still had feelings for him. A year after the battle at the remembrance ceremony, Ron and I got together after a rather rash, uncharacteristic drinking session on my behalf. The result of which, was Rosie. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret that night; it gave me my lovely daughter but Molly made us get married saying 'no Weasley was going to be born out of wed-lock,' " She put her head back down.

"Hermione, how many times has he cheated on you?" he asked sincerely.

She shrugged, not committing to an answer. Draco carefully removed the strand of hair from her eyes and gently turned her head towards his so he could look into her eyes and her him, asking silently the question again.

"A handful; two times that I suspect, and tonight but the time before this was about two and a half years ago." She sighed dropping her head back down "I seem to be telling you everything tonight baring my soul, don't I?"

Hermione was ashamed. Never in all of her 31 years of life, almost 32, had she expressed her secrets to anyone bar her parents. She was independent, headstrong and strong willed. However tonight she was sharing them with someone who was far from her best friend, her tormenter for six years. And yet she couldn't help herself, even having endured the Cruciatus Curse cast by Bellatrix Lestrange, a wave of emotions was able to come past her barricade. Because while the unforgivable curse had caused physical pain, she had been able to maintain her barrier, but what Ronald Weasley had caused was both a physical and an emotional pain that weighed heavy on Hermione's heart and therefore needed to be released.

"You can simply say what you are happy to divulge," Draco said giving Hermione a way out of the current situation, and she gladly accepted and remained quiet. Draco breathed heavily through his nose turning away from looking at Hermione. "To level the Quidditch field, I'll tell you what happened with me and Astoria."

"I read it all in 'The Prophet' last year, before your Father made them write a retraction."

He shook his head "You mean the one that gave only the Greengrass' side of events?" he "tsk" at Hermione. "You for one should not believe everything you read in the media."

She looked confused. "What exactly was wrong in their assumptions?"

"Pretty much everything, so I'll tell you my part of the story from the beginning. It started in our seventh year when I found out I was arranged to marry Astoria Greengrass. The Greengrass-Malfoy union was a good accomplishment on behalf of both families, but like most arrangements there was minor problems; actually major problems. Both Astoria and I loved other people."

"Pansy?" Hermione asked with a slight sneer. Much like Hermione and Draco had become amicable, Pansy had become slightly kinder to Hermione in her own self-absorbed way, stopping the insults of "Mudblood" but still managing the downgraded insults similar to the "bookworm" standards.

He shook his head, laughing lightly. "Pansy? No, she was destined to be with Blaise and they now have two children together, Amando and Violetta. As for your next question, I'm not telling you who it was, maybe one day but not today. Astoria however, was in love with Theodore Nott's younger brother Thomas."

"Wasn't he a prefect with Astoria?"

Draco nodded an affirmative response. "She told me she couldn't go through with the arrangement, and she insisted there must have been a way out. But there wasn't, I looked it up." He ran a hand through his dishevelled blonde locks before going over his face. "So we adjusted the arrangement; she was to provide me with a pure-blood male heir, and I would give her a divorce and money so that she could be with Thomas, near the child's eleventh birthday as is required by law. She asked for only one condition; to be able to see the child regularly. I agreed, how could I not?"

Looking to Hermione he continued; "The day we signed the divorce papers, she was going off with Thomas. He picked her up from the Manor and they both planned to move up North somewhere to start afresh with the money I gave them. Thomas came in a Muggle car; since his father was incarcerated in Azkaban they became interested in Muggle Technology."

Hermione thought about the Theodore she remembered and imagined him as, interested in Muggles and Muggle technology as Arthur Weasley was.

"While they were on route there was an accident; a drunk Muggle behind the wheel. The impact killed them instantly. The Senior Greengrass' believe I had her killed for having an affair, hence the reason that the newspaper said."

For the first time that night Hermione could see tears forming in Draco's eyes; "I didn't… I already got what I wanted from the deal… but they insisted that I had some connection to her death and claimed it was because she was mocking the Malfoy name. They said I also had a mistress to satisfy my needs and that was the reason Astoria was divorcing me, when I showed them the papers."

He shook his head. "They refuse to see Scorpius because he reminds them too much of me and the reason they no longer have their daughter. They are not happy about Daphne seeing either of us, but she just says I was her friend before I was her Brother-in-law, and that no matter who her Nephew's Father is, she still wants to be able to see her Nephew."

"So she comes to Puddlemere United's Quidditch games at the weekend with her two children to watch her husband, Terence Higgs. He plays as a Chaser and while she is there she gets to see Scorpius."

"Terence Higgs...wasn't he the Slytherin seeker before you?"

He nodded looking smug with himself, "Yes he was, he now plays seeker for Puddlemere, if I can't play but usually he's a Chaser."

"Are you trying to show off Mr Malfoy?" she joked.

"Is it working? Because if it is, maybe I am" he teased, causing Hermione to blush a scarlet colour and a large smile to crack on her face. "That's what I wanted to see."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"That smile. I've not seen that smile in many years, it is always a good sign to talk to you when you're happy and smiling."

"I don't have much to be happy about at the moment; my life is crumbling around me," she said in a serious tone.

"Should I be offended?" he said trying to lighten the mood "You are at the home of our Hogwarts year's Sex God and Bachelor of the year 2010 and your not happy," he finished with a dramatic "ack."

"You know what I mean Malfoy," she said, still with no playfulness in her tone, biting back the retort of 'this is still the same house I was tortured in.'

He simply nodded, realising they had gone back to surname terms. Knowing now was his destined time to leave, he stood full up instead of leaning on the balcony. "It is getting late. You need to sleep all that crying will have took a lot out of you." He walked casually towards the bedroom door.

"Thank you Malfoy," Hermione's meek voice said from the balcony area.

"Your welcome," he said over his shoulder, not committing to a name.

-DMHG-

Once Draco got to his room, he stripped off his suit down to his boxer and climbed into bed, hoping tomorrow wasn't as eventful.

-HGDM-

A few minutes after Draco left, Hermione closed the balcony doors and changed into a light green negligee she found in the wardrobe, climbing into bed she hoped the next day didn't bring so much crying.

-DMHG-

24th April 2011: 3.26 am

Draco woke with a start, unsure of why he had awoken. Glancing at his clock he noted the time was 3.26am. Sighing, he rolled over onto his right side so that his back was to the door. He then heard a noise he hadn't heard in twelve years, causing him to bolt upright.


	6. Nightmares, Tours and DIY

Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.

Chapter 6: Nightmares, Tours and D.I.Y

24th April 2011: 3.26 am

Draco woke with a start, unsure of why he had awoken. Glancing at his clock he noted the time was 3.26am. Sighing, he rolled over onto his right side so that his back was to the door. A noise sounded that he hadn't heard in twelve years, causing him to sit bolt upright.

Draco grabbed his 10" Hawthorn wand with a Unicorn hair core off a side table and leapt out of his comfy king size bed. Swinging open the door he noticed a light on at the end of the other wing followed by two shadows underneath the door. The door opened to reveal a very alert Lucius Malfoy, whose wand was pointed out in front of him, and a slightly scared Narcissa Malfoy using her husband as a human shield.

That's when the noise was heard again, a whimpering noise, coming from the guest room, much louder than the original.

Slowly walking towards the door, Draco was cautious, unsure if he should proceed. If this experience was going to be anything like the ones at Hogwarts, Draco needed to be on high alert.

Hermione Granger at nineteen was a hard contender with the amounts of both offensive and defensive spells she knew, so a thirty plus year old would potentially be deadly.

As he came level with the room next door to Hermione's guest suite, Scorpius' room door opened, revealing the young man in question in a thoroughly sleep deprived state, his hair askew sticking out in all different directions with red rimmed eyes.

The quartet of Malfoy's congregated outside the guest suite with renewed alertness. "What was that noise?" Narcissa Malfoy queried, looking at her only son expectantly.

"Probably the Mud-" one look from his wife stopped Lucius mid sentence.

The sound became clearer; a high pitched scream followed the whimpering, sending chills up the spines of all those present. "It's a nightmare or rather a memory if it is what I think it is." Draco stated looking back to the door his face having paled even more.

Tightening his grip around his wand he took one more cautious step towards the door, leaving him within two foot of the threshold. "I need you all to go back to your rooms," Draco stated, not turning from looking at the door. When no movement was heard he turned back to his family, "Please, this could become dangerous."

"I'm not leaving Draco," his Mother said defiantly. Draco knew that once her mind was made up it was near impossible to deter her from her cause, much like her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, had found many years ago.

Narcissa had requested Severus Snape's help in looking after Draco during his task set by the Dark Lord. With her husband incarcerated in Azkaban, Narcissa had nowhere else to turn unless she changed sides, which would in turn be sentence her whole family to death. Bellatrix had tried and tried to prevent Narcissa from seeking the Potions Master out, but Narcissa had been stubborn having continued with her mission regardless of her sister's interference.

Draco also knew his father would rightfully stay by his wife's side; as Pureblood tradition stated, so Draco resigned to just addressing his son, "Scorpius you go back to your room, you don't have any protection for this."

Draco pointed his wand to the doorway muttering a quick "Protego Totalum" spell, a shield charm that would protect those outside the door from whatever came out. He began turning the door knob, but paused, turning to face his parents. "Mother, Father, I ask that you place your own shield charm around yourselves should mine fail, and that if you do proceed into the room, be on guard." Muttering a modified shield charm taught to him by Hermione for around himself, Draco opened the door fully.

The modified "Protego" charm was devised so unlike many other shield charms, this could absorb the attack rather than reflect it, thus making it safe to use in battle fields among comrades and foes.

Hermione was prone in a ram rod shaped position on the bed, the covers cast onto the floor around its base. She looked as if she was strapped down. Her face screwed up into that of a grimace before her back arched off the mattress, and she let out a blood curdling scream harsh enough to give any listener a ringing sound in their ear for hours. Luckily the "Protego" spell would protect Draco's hearing over a certain number of decibels.

When Hermione's back settled back on the bed Draco made sure his shield charm was still active, and seconds later numerous coloured lights careered towards him aimed at differing sections of his anatomy.

A red light of an "Expelliarmus" charm hit the shield on level with his hand and Draco knew that without his shield he would have smashed into the wall opposite the door; much like he did the first time he ever walked in on Hermione having a nightmare.

The next spell to hit the shield was a white coloured light; Draco's memory told him that it was a full body binding curse and that following next would be the red coloured stunning spell. The spells were interrupted by another anguished cry from Hermione as she once again arched off the bed, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

In quick succession, a burst of bright white light aimed for Draco's crotch area, beginning with a stinging hex, a bat-bogey hex taught to Hermione courtesy of Ginerva Weasley, and a jelly-legs jinx all hit the shield, causing it to finally give in. Being prepared, Draco ducked and rolled to the safety of the left hand side of the bed, using the beds depth as protection.

Once the spells had stopped coming, Draco slowly raised himself into a kneeling position at the side of the bed. Gently, he placed his hand on Hermione's arm; whispering her name "Hermione?"

Hermione's body still looked as if it was still strapped down, sweat poured down her head as if she had been in a sauna. Tears also stained her cheeks and were congregated in the corner of her eyes.

In Hermione's mind she was back in a blacked out room within Malfoy Manor, being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix was throwing Cruciatus curse after Cruciatus curse at her pinned down form, asking questions and questions about how the Golden Trio had acquired the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, when the most curious thing happened. She began smelling an exotic smell; new parchment, freshly cut grass as well as a scent that Hermione couldn't quite place, followed closely by a white shaded figure coming into the blackness of her eyesight; she couldn't see who it was but she could no longer feel the pain exerted on her by the Cruciatus curse.

"Hermione?" the figure spoke.

"It isn't the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!" she screamed at her.

"Hermione?" the voice asked again as a pressure formed on her face, bringing her out of the memory.

The pressure on her face was Draco's thumb as he attempted to wipe the tears away. Bringing her hand up to his, Hermione opened her eyes, "Draco?" she croaked slightly, "What are you doing here?"

He glanced up and grey eyes locked with chocolate brown, causing Draco to just stare. Only when she squeezed his hand did he answer, "You were having a nightmare…" he paused, "Woke the whole house up."

She blushed due to embarrassment as she took her hand out of his, turning away from him. His brows furrowed. He had meant it as a light-hearted joke but she seemed to have taken it the wrong way. "I didn't mean it that way," he tried to explain.

"Save it Malfoy… I'm sorry to have disturbed your much needed beauty sleep, you can leave, and I'll put up silencing charms," she turned further away from Draco.

"I don't want to leave- I have to explain, I was trying to lighten the mood." He attempted to grab her shoulder to roll her over but she shook it off.

"Making a joke at my expense? Great! Like I haven't had enough of that my whole life?" she said sarcastically.

Draco stared at the back of her head as if attempting to make her look at him. When she didn't, he sat on the bed where she still didn't turn towards him. "You still suffer from nightmares?" he asked, adjusting the subject.

"I would have thought that was quite obvious!" she snapped.

"I meant that I thought maybe you would have got over them by now."

"No" she answered simply.

He grasped her shoulder slightly harder than he intended in order to make her look at him, causing her wince slightly. "Please just look at me."

She allowed him to turn her over and what she saw in his now mercury grey irises made her recoil; he looked hurt and sorrowful. Never had she truly seen Draco Malfoy up close and personal, or without a sneer, smirk or a blank, emotionless face and it scared her.

"Can I do anything to help?" he asked as she continued to stare at him.

Hermione stared back at Draco for a few minutes before he rubbed his neck, his nervous tick, and she blinked breaking the spell she was seemingly under. "What?"

"Is there anything I can do to make you able to have a good night sleep?" Draco asked again, though he hated to have to repeat himself. He held back a retort, unlike he usually did to his subordinates.

Hermione looked up at the ceiling before stating quietly, "There's only two ways I seem to be able to get a decent night sleep." He nodded in order for her to continue, when she brought her eyes back down to his, "The first option would be drinking a Dreamless Sleep Potion..."

"I am sorry, we don't have any. I could make some up but it will take at least an hour and I'm sure by then you'll have either fell back asleep or be fully awake." He smiled sadly, "What's the other option? I'll help anyway I can."

Once again she turned her sight back to the ceiling, 'If only you knew,' she thought sullenly. "It's embarrassing," she said quickly and quietly, causing Draco to have to strain to hear her. She was about to repeat herself when Draco spoke.

"If it's something to do with Weaselbee and his anatomy I would rather not know."

She shook her head quickly from side to side, "Not Ronald specifically."

"Ah, so it is something only a man can give you? Is it long? Well in my case it is." He stated, chuckling slightly at his own joke.

A look of mortification and utter disgust appeared on Hermione's face, "No not that," she stuttered.

"Don't be embarrassed-"

"No!" she shouted "You don't understand… if you can't be serious, leave!" she shouted, tears of frustration spilling out of her eyes as she pointed to the door.

"What?" Draco asked confused about the sudden turn of mood, "I was once again just trying to lighten th-"

"The mood, I know… once again picking the most inopportune time to make a joke and once again at my expense. So to save myself face and you breath, you can leave, I'll put up a silencing spell and we can all get back to sleep."

"I truly am sorry," he said sadly, 'Merlin all I seem to be doing is apologising to her.'

"I'm not sure I can accept your apology Malfoy. I find it embarrassing that I still have nightmares about what happened thirteen years ago at the hand of your Aunt and you make a joke about it, so really, leave," she pointed to the door. When he didn't make a hair breadths way towards moving, she turned over onto her side hoping he'd somehow get the point and leave her.

Draco sighed, breathing heavily through his nose and clamping the bridge with his fingers, all of which were signs of impatience, or used for calming him. He looked towards her, "I'm sorry for making a joke at your expense, it was wrong and childish, I'm sorry for upsetting you." He grabbed a hold of her left hand at her side. "Will you accept my apology, and tell me what I can do to get you to have a comfortable nights sleep?" he pleaded as he gently rubbed his calloused thumb over her smooth supple hand.

A Malfoy was never known for being reduced to a pleading tone, it was just unnatural, that someone of their calibre that high up in social standings had to get down on their hands and knees to beg for something. If the woman laying on the bed before him was anyone other than Hermione Granger and just any other Muggleborn, they wouldn't have even heard this tone, but since all those years ago Draco had strived to be accepted by her.

Hermione quickly wiped away the tears before turning back around and nodding towards Draco, who looked at her intently, waiting for her to explain to him how he could help.

"I tend to not have nightmares ifsomeoneiswithme," she rushed out.

Draco leant forward so she could feel his breath on the shell of her ear "What?"

"I said it helps if someone is with me." It may seem a strange truth, but while Hermione was being tortured, nobody had been with her, so the memory became associated with loneliness, therefore, when she could feel someone nearby during the nightmares, her mind comprehended it to not be real and allowed her to escape the trappings of her mind.

"You want me to sleep with you?" he asked, being completely serious, but him being a Malfoy, made Hermione immediately go on the defensive.

"See, I knew you'd be like this," she pulled her hand away from him.

"Like what? It was a-"

"The old Malfoy- having a sarcastic retort, when I'm trying to be completely serious," she answered his question, not even giving him a chance to state his next comment.

He was in no mood to argue with her as it was now four o'clock in the morning and he was tired and irritable so he simply succumbed. "Okay fine, I'm sorry. No more smart comments will leave my mouth. Now move over."

She moved over to the far right side of the bed, as Draco stood to close the open door.

Sometime during Hermione and Draco's chat, the senior Malfoy's had gone back to bed giving them some privacy to which Draco was pleased because chances were that his Father wouldn't have heard of his uncharacteristic pleading to a "Lowly Mudblood" in the words of Lucius.

Once the door was closed, Draco shuffled back to the bed carefully pulling down the duvet to allow him room to get in. As he lay down he could hear the rhythmic breathing of Hermione as she slumbered peacefully.

Draco lay there admiring the back view presented to him of Hermione, and he found himself intrigued. For a woman who, to the best of his knowledge, didn't and never had participated in any sports, still maintained a fit body, a petite frame, but not too much as to be mistaken for someone half her age. Her physique was good not as good admittedly as some models or the air heads Draco had been out with, but that gave a certain appeal to the blond.

Many women threw themselves at Puddlemere United's "Quidditch Superstar", flicking their hair, batting their eyelashes and such, and Draco had picked many of them since his wife died to satisfy certain needs, but none of them have the ability to maintain his interests for more than two "dates" and most certainly didn't have the required characteristics of a potential Malfoy Wife. They talked about all the things they think he wants to talk about; how good he is at Quidditch, how they are going to vote for him for "Bachelor of the Year", how rich he is; or what they want to talk about; their hair, how much they paid for their clothes etc., causing Draco to have to drone out their rather pathetic rambling noise.

While they all have the looks perfect to be holding onto the Malfoy heir's arm, they lacked the stability for him to let them go while he talked business with associates or Quidditch with his friends or if they were there, they either didn't participate or their input made no sense to the conversation, at which point he sent them off to get a drink. And this is what annoyed Draco the most; he was always right even when he was wrong! He never got a retort back, a witty comment that made him smirk and have that look that shouted, "That's my girl!" They were robots designed to look good but have no hidden talents.

A lesson taught to Draco by his father showed what a true Malfoy bride must have as desired qualities, the epitome of which was Draco's mother. His father listed the qualities needed; proud, all Malfoy's must be proud no matter where they came from. Loving, protective and loyal; all Malfoy's must be loving towards their family and seriously loyal and protective to their friends and especially their family, sticking up for them no matter how dangerous situations become.

But what exactly was it that intrigued Draco about this particular Witch? Which one trait of hers stood above all else and made him change his view? That was one thought Draco would need to think upon over a scotch on the rocks.

Slight movement from Hermione in her sleep caused Draco to stop staring, lest she realised he was doing so. Turning over so his back was to her, Draco soon fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of his lost love.

-DMHG-

Draco awoke with a start trying to roll over to the left of his king size bed, when he found that his right arm was pinned by an unknown force. He quickly opened his eyes. Glancing down to his arm pit, he realised he wasn't in his king size bed, because snuggled closely and using his arm as a pillow, was a mass of bushy brown hair. Draco immediately knew the owner and it brought back memories from the previous night.

Shame over came Draco as he remembered his tipsy advances on the brunette and it brought a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew that if he was slightly more inebriated, his mind wouldn't have been able to slow or stop his body and the consequences would have been dire.

Those actions may have also caused his father to become disgusted and potentially disinherit him altogether. Draco's father had instilled in his son, a Malfoy trait that was of great importance, especially to Draco's personally. Rule number one within the handbook of behaviour of a Malfoy under the 'Women' chapter was this; "Rape is not tolerated by any member of the House of Malfoy- no matter the circumstances." His father had explained that Malfoy men have been seen as sex God's among peers and the general public for as long as they lived, and as such had to act accordingly, e.g. they don't force themselves onto people, people are always willing participants.

Draco later decided he didn't want to be what the Death Eaters stood for when he realised exactly what that was; murder, rape and torture. That was what, in Draco's opinion, caused his father to loose a little faith in Lord Voldemort. Lucius was fine with the torture and occasionally the murder, but the raping was an absolute no-no.

Hermione moved slightly in her sleep causing Draco to come out of his reflection and also succeeded in making him aware of their positions. Hermione's body was turned onto its left side so she was facing him, her face tucked slightly into the side near the arm pit. Her right leg was also tucked in between his legs. Her movement had caused her bent knee to brush his groin making Draco suck in his breath in fear of groaning, but Draco was unable to stop the blood rushing south.

Her right hand was placed lightly on his taut stomach while her left was between them with her thumb resting slightly on his nipple. Draco's left hand having gone unnoticed before, was caressing her lower back in tiny circular movements. When Draco consciously stopped the movement Hermione moved again in her sleep, closer to the warmth he was exuding causing her knee to once again brush his groin and her left hand moved making the nipple harden.

Draco bit his lip to stop yet another moan he was sure to produce, until he could taste a metallic taste within his mouth. Deciding that to keep his sanity and possibly his male anatomy, he would have to pry himself from Hermione. Despite the moans of protest coming from the brunette he trudged on.

Carefully removing his left leg from the top of hers he managed one appendage, sliding his right leg from under hers he managed the second with only a slight change of her breathing. But as he tried to pick her right hand off of his stomach she reacted. In attempting to roll away from her grasp, she ended up above him. His breathing hitched and as if on cue her eyes opened to a view she will never forget.

Because beneath her, was a half naked Draco Malfoy.

All women have a dream to wake up next to a handsome hunk of a man and Hermione Granger was no exception; especially considering the fact that for the past twelve or so years she, had woke up to Ronald Bilius Weasley, a man who she had come to love more as a brother than a lover and one that had failed to keep at a job for more than three years since he had left Hogwarts without any N.E.W.T.S., and who also refused to have life goals or ambitions of his own. These were some of the reasons Hermione and him were incompatible.

Before Hermione's body reacted in order to get off of Draco ,she found herself speaking. "How… how did we end up like this?"

The look of confusion made Draco smirk. She had no memory at all of this so far, so until she did, he decided he'd have a bit of fun, "Well last night you woke me saying you had something to show me in your room, I said it could wait until the morning but you were adamant I had to see it there and then. Naturally I became intrigued so I followed you, when I got here you jumped me… and I mean jumped me, we had wild passionate sex… three times," he emphasised the number with his fingers. "You just woke me now for round four."

Her face went from confusion to utter horror throughout his story, changing from a light pink to a beetroot red in colour. Draco could no longer hold back the laughter, it came off in waves and Hermione, if she wasn't thoroughly pissed, would have agreed that it had a melodic sound to it. As it was, she aimed a punch at his shoulder and another at his abdomen, the force from which hurt her hand more than his stomach.

She finally glanced down to realise that he was as naked as she thought he was, almost as naked as the day he was born, bar the fact he was wearing a pair of green silk boxers.

Still laughing, he rolled them over so he was on top, though his considerable weight felt more like a feather above her. "You should know I prefer to be the one on the top," he whispered into the shell of her ear, sending a shiver down Hermione's back. The shiver caused her to unconsciously, once again, seek the closest source of heat which was Draco. Arching up, she became aware that he was quite aroused. Blushing, she flattened her body to the bed and looked up into his grey eyes as if afraid of what was to come.

Draco couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione's 'plump kissable lips' and as if in slow motion his mouth began lowering towards hers, and hers lifted towards his, meeting in a slow supple kiss until it became more heated, fireworks went off in the back of each of their minds.

Hermione's hands had a mind of their own as they moved from her sides to his neck, her right combing through his 'soft' platinum blond locks, her left remaining around his neck. Draco's arms couldn't move as they were holding him up so that he didn't crush her smaller frame.

As they surfaced for breath, reality kicked in for Hermione and she unhooked her arms and began pushing at his chest, mortified at what they had been doing. Draco continued to nuzzle at her neck, waiting for her to catch her breath, until she spoke the words that completely shattered the spell they were under; "Draco, stop."

His head stopped moving and he lifted it so he could see her. Her eyes were now a caramel colour due to arousal, but he could see the hidden fear in them. Reluctantly he moved so that he was no longer above her, and then turned away from her as he rubbed his hands down his face. When he turned back she had covered her negligee and body with the bed duvet.

"I should go and get ready," she said breaking the uncomfortable silence that had covered them. He simply nodded as she pulled the duvet off the bed to hide herself.

"You shouldn't hide it…" he stated as she got closer to the bathroom. She looked back confused. "Your body… don't feel insecure about it. Weasley truly is an idiot to give you up, any man would be proud to have you on his arm." She smiled sadly as entered the en-suite.

Inside, she looked at herself in the reflection of the mirror; her eyes like a panda's due to the mascara having run, a severe case of bed hair and she could see the slow blush spreading out along her cheeks.

She had just initiated a kiss with Draco Malfoy and as much as she knew, she should thoroughly regret her actions. She had a small niggle within her that enjoyed it and would much rather do it again, than climb into an empty bed or kiss Ronald Weasley again.

Running some water into the basin, she continued staring at her reflection, her index finger coming up to brush along her lips where a slight tingle was still going through them from his kiss. 'The single most pleasurable pleasure I have had in years. Who would have thought it would come from Draco Malfoy.'

Cupping her hands under the water, she brought the handful to her face to rid it of any remaining sleep, and clumps of her make-up. She then shed the green silk negligee she was wearing and stepped into the shower.

-HGDM-

Hermione finally stepped out of the bathroom some forty minutes later. Her hair pristine, loose but manageable, wearing her own clothes from yesterday having been washed and ironed by the house-elf had been waiting for her when she exited the shower cubicle; the size of which would take up at least three quarters of her bathroom at home. She sniffed at herself; the shower gel in the bathroom having had no real smell when she first used it, came alive with the smell of fresh fruit her usual smell when mixed with water. Naturally, she was curious how exactly that had happened. 'Obviously some spell work' she summarised, though there was no label on the bottle to indicate where it had come from so she was unable to get some for her own use. 'I'll have to ask Draco'

Finally looking around the room she realised Draco was no longer around, his wand having gone from the bedside table and the bed back to its immaculate state from when she first arrived. And that's when she noticed it; a piece of folded up parchment resting on the pillow Draco had slept on.

Waltzing over, Hermione picked up the parchment and walked out onto the balcony as she read the note; the first thing she noticed was the elegant handwriting that she remembered from Hogwarts.

Harry and Ron both had rather scruffy boyish handwriting that required one to decipher it to be able to read it, smudged occasionally where they rushed or food smudges in the case of Ron. However, Draco's scrawl was much easier to read, never a speck wrong or a cross through a word. Truthfully it was impeccable.

What the note said made her frown;

Dear Hermione,

I truly am sorry for my behaviour yesterday as well as my actions this morning, I let my body control me and I put you in an awkward position, I hope we can move forward in our continuing meetings.

D-

P.S. Breakfast will be served in the same room as yesterday, should you struggle to find it, call Miffy and she will surely be able to accompany you to the correct room.

Hermione re-read the letter over and over, 'It sounds like he regrets this morning. "Continuing meetings?" that sounds formal.' As much as Hermione knew she shouldn't, she felt hurt by his letter's content.

-DMHG-

Needless to say, Hermione managed to locate the dining room with relative ease. When she got there the Malfoy's were all there, minus Lucius. Draco sat in the seat opposite to that in which Hermione was seated the previous day, and where she decided she would sit today. Draco kept trying to make eye contact with her as she sat down, but she ignored him, concentrating on the food in front of her instead.

Unlike the house-elves serving them like yesterday, the food was already available in front of them; racks of toast, with a choice of spreads, sausages, bacon, hash browns and scrambled eggs as well as a container of baked beans all sat in the middle of the table. Jugs containing the usual different types of fruit juices were available along with tea and coffee, each of which was placed in the centre.

She could feel Draco's eyes on her as she began eating the sausages she had placed on her plate, but continued to ignore him, instead deciding that if she was speaking to someone else, it wouldn't look as obvious that she was avoiding him.

"This food," she indicated the food around the table, "Is really nice, Mrs Malfoy." She turned to look at the woman to her left.

Narcissa looked between her son and their guest and noticed he seemed to be staring at the other witch. "Well thank you but I cannot take the credit, the house elves are exceptional at what they do."

Years ago Hermione would have never thought she would be hearing Narcissa Malfoy commending a house-elf on their work, as it was it was still a surprise but less so.

"I have got to admit they have been doing a lot better since Draco made them have holidays. They seem to love to be back serving us," the older woman smiled, actually smiled, Hermione was gobsmacked.

"It's good that a family as old as yours actually changed before the law was passed, you made many other families follow your lead, and so there wasn't many people going against it when it was in discussion to be passed."

The conversation seemed to die down after Hermione's statement, the occupants of the room simply content to continue eating.

"Grand-mere, is it okay if I be excused? Amando is due round soon, he said he didn't want to go to work with his mother, and his father is off to Italy on business. Father said it was alright that he came around."

"You'll have to ask your father, Scorpius." The boy looked expectantly towards his father who simply nodded so that he could leave.

Once Hermione was finished with her English breakfast she picked a few slices of toast off the racks and noticed they were still quite warm. She looked down the table for the jam and noticed it in the most inopportune place; out of her reach right near Draco. Without looking up she called to him. "Hmm, Draco can you pass the jam?"

He glanced at her through his eyelashes before picking the small pot up and passing it to her. As their fingers touched they both felt a slight bolt of electricity connect them, making them both look towards the other but as soon as their eyes met Hermione looked away. Saying a small thank you, she looked down to concentrate on her slices of toast.

Half way through Hermione's third and final piece of toast, Narcissa spoke again; "If I remember correctly, I said I would give you a tour of the manor Ms Granger, so if you will pardon me, I shall go and change into suitable clothes." That was obviously an excuse on Narcissa's part, as the clothing she was currently wearing was more than suitable to give someone a tour of a house.

Narcissa left the room, leaving only Hermione and Draco present. The silence soon became tense and you could literally cut through it with a knife, until Draco broke it; "Is there a reason you are ignoring me?"

"Ignoring?" she asked sceptically.

"Avoiding then? Why?" he paused, "Is it something to do with this morning?" he paused again, "I left you a note; did you not get it?"

She finally lifted her sight to his "Oh I got it" she snapped giving up attempting to finish her slice of jam toast, "Were you truly that disgusted that you kissed a lowly Mudblood? That you couldn't even say relationship but would rather say meetings?"

"What? You think I left this morning because I kissed you? No, I left this morning because…" he trailed off not explaining himself. "As for the 'continuing meetings', what would you have thought had I put relationship? Probably that you were one of many that Draco Malfoy had 'conquered' or was currently 'conquering'. I don't think of you like that." He walked round to the other side of the table to the seat his mother had vacated.

"Your self-esteem has dropped because of what Weaselbee has done, I don't want to rush you into anything, if your heart isn't in it" he stated softly.

Hermione didn't say another word as she continued to wonder why he didn't finish his answer as to why he left.

"What are you going to do about him? Weaselbee I mean." She shrugged. "Are you planning to tell Potter and Potterette? What about your daughter?"

"I'll tell Harry and Ginny when it comes out. I'm going to look at staying at the house my parents had when they moved back to England. The couple who were renting have just moved out."

"You're not going to seek them out? They'll want to know."

She shook her head, "You plan to go through this on your own?"

She nodded not even pretending she wasn't going to, she heard Draco sigh "If you're going to say that your here for me, don't. We both know you really don't care, you only invited me here because you feel obligated because of what I did for you after the war; you really shouldn't feel indebted to me."

Draco was stopped from answering as his mother re-entered the room. "How about we start this tour?" she announced, unaware of the conversation she had interrupted.

"That would be lovely Mrs Malfoy," Hermione said as she stood up from the table. She cast a look at Draco, "If you'll excuse me Malfoy, I have a prior engagement."

"Why don't you join us Draco?" his mother asked sincerely.

Draco looked from his mother to Hermione, "I'm sorry mother, I have some business to attend to." He leant over to kiss her cheek. "Hermione," he leant over to kiss her cheek, but not before whispering, "We will talk about this later." With that, he walked out of the dining room.

-HGDM-

The manor's first floor housed the usual rooms; the reception hall, drawing room, sitting room, dining room, cloakroom, hall, the music room, kitchen, travelling room; where the floo system operated, a living room and a rather big ballroom.

Narcissa had explained the third floor consisted of Draco and Lucius' studies as well as a library that she would allow Hermione to explore at her own leisure. The second floor was all bedrooms according to Narcissa; 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms.

The pair walked through the dining room in order to reach the patio, "And this is the patio. Summers out here are really nice, you should come to the manor then, I find it very relaxing. A good book and the sun are the perfect combination." 'A woman after my own heart,' Hermione thought.

She smiled once again, grabbing Hermione's arm before leading her towards an out building. The building in itself was just like the manor in the sense that it had the same style brick work, but instead of the slate roofing, this building had a pitched glass roof. Once they entered Hermione realised why an ornate indoor pool became visible as you entered. A moving statue of mermaid jumped in an out of the pool while the tiled sea-horse swam through the water from tile to tile.

"Narcissa, this is… lovely" Hermione stated, running her hand along a statue of a dolphin at the steps into the pool, causing it along with its twin situated on the other side, to spurt some water out of their blowholes before diving into the water.

"Thank you," Narcissa answered as she began walking to a door in the back. "This is where my husband and Draco spend a lot of their time together." The room looked larger than it should have from the outside and an encompassed all gym equipment Hermione could think to have, from weights to treadmills to trampolines.

Pointing to the big expanse of matted area, Hermione asked, "What's that for?"

Narcissa shook her head, "That is the duelling mat," Hermione gasped slightly. "Lucius trained Draco on the use of a wand, both defensive and offensive spells."

The colour drained from Hermione's face. Seeing this, Narcissa decided to clarify, "Not the unforgivables if that is what you are thinking. They also use it for simple self-defence, wandless and hand to hand combat."

They exited the room back into the pool area and Hermione noticed a sauna room as well as a cold-plunge tucked in the back before she was whisked away to yet another building, which she immediately recognised as an equestrian paddock, though it was considerably taller.

Once inside, she realised it was a lot taller than the average one. Sand covered the floor proving it was an equestrian area, but the goal post situated at either end confirmed it to double up as a Quidditch field.

"Draco insisted we had one stating that flying in mid-air with Muggles possibly seeing was dangerous, not to mention a neighbour has a helicopter and Draco was almost scalped during his third year."

Hermione had to laugh at that fact; the possibility that Draco would have had to attend school without his famous mop of hair, covering it up with a toupee only for it to fall of into a potion due to Crabbe or Goyle made her double over.

After Hermione's laughter finally subsided, the pair began walking back towards the house. Standing on the patio was Lucius Malfoy, a scowl on his face as he signalled his wife over said a few things in her ear before she walked back to where she had left Hermione.

"It seems my husband requires me, am I alright to leave you to discover the rest of the gardens on your own?" Hermione nodded. "Good, good the orangery is that way," she pointed to the opposite side of the house than the building housing the pool, "As is the maze and peacock garden." Hermione nodded as she surveyed the area.

Mrs Malfoy spun around her dress robe, swaying slightly before walking off with her head held high, so unlike Hermione.

_-DMHG-_

Meanwhile

Draco stood, pacing his office come study, 'What am I going to do with that stubborn witch?' he sighed. His pacing rarely helped him make decisions but at least allowed his nerves to be settled or allow him to come up with a rational plan.

A light bulb suddenly went off in his head- 'Of course why didn't I think of it before.'

Grabbing a handful of floo powder, he chucked it into the flames of the fire in his office and the flame turned green. He stuck his head into the heatless flames, calling his desired destination.

Two minutes later a shaggy black haired mop appeared at the entrance of the room, wand in hand and a dressing gown thrown on haphazardly. "Hello" the man called in a slightly gruff voice.

"Potter, get your arse over here now!" Draco warned.

"Malfoy what are you doing here?"

"Is Potterette about? And Weaselbee better not be nearby."

"No Ron's not here, Ginny's upstairs though, why?" Harry was starting to get agitated.

"I need a favour," the blond asked.

A/N: There we go, Chapter 6 of Enough

If anyone want to see what I based the Malfoy Manor on, search for Midway Manor in Google it's in Bradford-on-Avon.

Love as always,

Scorpio219 x.x.

A little spoiler: Lucius took Harry's distraction as a chance to accio his wand back to his hand and then suddenly …

A green light erupted in the room and Harry Potter, the boy who survived the Killing Curse twice, dropped to the floor, motionless.


	7. Interference

_**A little spoiler: **__Lucius took Harry's distraction as a chance to accio his wand back to his hand and then suddenly …_

_A green light erupted in the room and Harry Potter, the boy who survived the Killing Curse twice, dropped to the floor, motionless._

**Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Interference**

"_No__,__ Ron's not here__.__ Ginny's upstairs though__. Why__?" Harry was starting to get agitated._

"_I need a favour," the blonde asked._

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"Ginny baby?" Harry's voice had a certain edge to it.

"What's wrong Harry?" Ginny's voice echoed back from the kitchen; after twelve long years of marriage she could tell by the different voices he used whether he was worried, anxious, angry, happy or any other emotion under the rainbow.

"We have a problem." The edge was still in his voice as he came to the kitchen door. "A big problem!"

"What?"

Ginny was slightly fearful since Harry seemed nervous … and _nothing_ scared Harry anymore. He'd toughened up since that day he killed Lord Voldemort thirteen years ago, especially because he had seen so much in his day to day job as an Auror. Now, as head of the Auror Office division within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, his experience had expanded even more.

"I've just spoke to Malfoy." Ginny's eyebrows drew together; never once since they had finished school had they spoken to Draco Malfoy. They only ever had a curt nod in public. What he said next shocked her the most. "He needs a favour."

"What do you mean?" Draco Malfoy was not one to ask Gryffindors for help. The exception would be when he'd asked Hermione to teach him a few things but Hermione had sworn Ginny to secrecy, something she hated to do to her husband.

Harry explained the whole dilemma to Ginny, her eyes widening and widening until they looked like plates. She shook her head again and again, saying two words: "Dear Merlin."

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_--30 minutes later--_

The whole of the Potter clan and one Weasley stood at the hearth of the fireplace, the elder two a slightly paler skin tone than usual; Harry looked at his wife and, taking a deep breath, he stepped forward.

"I'll go first to make sure the coast is clear." He grabbed a handful of floo powder, chucking it into the flames of the fire and waiting for them to change to the heatless green flames before stepping in and shouting his destination.

The remaining occupants of the room at Godric's Hallow all had varying emotions on their faces. Ginny and her daughter Lily Luna looked worried; Ginny's two sons, James Sirius and Albus Severus, both just looked glazed as they stared into the flames that had now gone back to their amber colour. The final occupant, Rose Weasley, affectionately called "Rosie" by her parents, looked anxious. She was noted to have inherited her mother's intellect and as such had managed to work out the reason they were now travelling to where they were going, and also why her Auntie and Uncle were nervous.

Truthfully she knew her parents had been in a rocky relationship since the off-set. She may have been young and naive in matters of the heart but she was far from stupid. The problem was she had held a secret back from her mother and she wasn't sure if she could face her at the moment. So she hesitated when her aunt Ginny called her into the hearth, before finally stepping forward.

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_--Travelling Room at Malfoy Manor--_

"I don't know why you insisted on giving that mud- that _woman_ a tour of our home. She will be leaving as soon as she has somewhere to stay, so why bother." Lucius Malfoy was pacing the room, reprimanding his wife.

Narcissa however had a stern look not too different to the one Professor Minerva McGonagall used to give them during their time at Hogwarts, so Lucius knew his wife meant business.

"Have you truly not opened your eyes? Our son seems content for her to stay, and I have got to admit having her kind in our home isn't ideal ... but think logically about it Lucius. _We_ fell out of standings, and you know well enough that being Pure-blood does _not_ matter to anyone anymore; being a _War hero_ does, and she _is_ one. Not to mention she is smart, beautiful and caring. Would she not sit perfectly on our son's arm?"

Lucius had to admit his wife was smart (one of the many reasons he'd been happy to marry her when their betrothal was announced) and that she made some very good points. But could he truly forget what he was brought up with? To wit, that Hermione Granger's kin were beneath him in a way not dissimilar to house-elves.

Narcissa had walked over to him, stopping him mid-pace, and looked up at him, her stern face gone. The expression now settled on her features, the opposite of what it had been, could melt even his ice cold heart. She had given him the exact same one when he suggested that Draco would be better going to Durmstrang Institute rather than Hogwarts.

He had succumbed to her wishes then, but would he fall for it twice?

His thoughts were interrupted as the fireplace suddenly came alive and out stepped, dirt and dust covered, Harry Potter. Harry was knocking the dirt off his hair and pants and when he looked up he came face to face with the end of Lucius Malfoy's wand. Adjusting his glasses, Harry surveyed the room, thinking, _Right home, wrong room._

"What are you doing here, Potter?" Lucius sneered, his wand trained on Harry's head.

"Malfoy ask me to come," Harry stuttered, feeling uneasy. In these circumstances he would usually have his wand.

"There are four Malfoys in this house," Lucius stated, looking towards his wife, "And this is the Malfoy home so you will give us the respect we deserve."

"Draco… Draco asked me to come," Harry's hand had strayed towards his wand, and he quickly drew it out, pointing it at Lucius, and shouting _Expelliarmus!_ reflexively. Lucius' wand flew out of his hand and to the floor.

Narcissa's own wand had come out in the meantime. "Potter, I'll have your job for that, no warrant, attacking an innocent civilian in their own home, tut, tut." Lucius narrowed his eyes as he looked at the man who had taken and given back so much to his family.

Harry Potter had taken the Malfoys' standings away from them … but he had given them a chance to survive, instead of rotting in a prison cell, on an island in the middle of nowhere.

When the door to the room opened, startling Harry, Lucius took Harry's distraction as a chance to accio his wand back to his hand and then suddenly …

A green light erupted in the room and Harry Potter, the boy who survived the Killing Curse twice, dropped to the floor, motionless.

The room's occupants looked on as laughter filled the room, Draco walked in from the doorway towards Potter's prone body, and the laughing Albus next to him on the floor. Albus had exited the floo network much like his father had done in 1993 sliding across the floor and taking his father out; the rest of the Weasley-Potter crowd stepped out of the hearth casually brushing off the dust and dirt.

Ginny stood shaking her head at her husband and son. "Albus, make sure your father's okay, instead of just laughing." She said this with a faint smile finding it hard to keep a straight face much like James and his twin sister Lily. Rose just looked on the scene anxiously, not finding it funny in the least; and considering _she_ would usually be the one rolling around on the floor, it was an amazing feat.

Draco rushed to Harry's side, his wand drawn when he didn't wake from Albus' nudges, and said, _Aguamneti_. A jet of clear, pure water streamed from the tip of his wand right onto Harry's face. His eyes suddenly popped open, as he spluttered to rid the water from his mouth.

Draco stopped the jet, and was helping Harry to his feet, when a house-elf appeared holding a towel. He handed it to Draco before disappearing just as quickly.

"Like father like son," Harry stated, ruffling Albus' hair, and shaking his own head. He turned towards Draco. "Where is she?" he asked as he took the offered towel.

Draco looked towards his mother knowing she was the last person to see her. "The Orangery," she stated before turning back to her husband who still had his wand pointed at Harry. She carefully lowered it to his side before removing it from his hand and sliding it back into his cane; then she guided him out of the room.

Draco nodded as he watched his parents leave before turning to his guest. He noted Rose was the only one not out towards the centre of the room, deciding to remain near the escape route.

"Potter, Potterette," he smirked as James stared at him in a scrutinising manner. "And you must be James." He extended his hand, making the boy squirm before Ginny nudged him forward.

"James Sirius you better shake Mr Malfoy's hand." He mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?" Ginny said in a Molly Weasley fashion.

"Nothing Mum," James sighed as he held his hand out, turning away as Draco shook it. Of the Potter's two boys James was the one least like his father; while both shared the hair of their father, James inherited Ginny's brown eyes and Albus inherited the distinct emerald eyes of his grandmother and father.

"Albus?" Draco said as he turned towards the younger boy, who nodded, unsure if he should do what his brother did. But one look at his mother told him to shake the offered hand.

Draco then turned towards the two girls. He was about to introduce himself but Lily got there first. "Lily Luna Potter." She held out her hand and said, "A pleasure, Mr. Malfoy." Draco glanced between Harry and Ginny, worried, and thought, _'She's just like __Granger.'_ He asked, "You spend a lot of time with Hermione don't you?"

She looked confused for a moment. "Well Rose is my best friend and Hermione is my auntie and Godmother, so yeah," she responded in a know-it-all attitude.

"Too much time," he said laughing slightly. He turned towards the other girl. "And you are obviously Rose, you have the same cu- button nose as Hermione, and the curls to match." He caught himself before he said cute. _'Since when do I think Granger's nose is cute?'_ Ginny meanwhile gave Harry a meaningful look.

Rose nodded in acknowledgement: "Yes I'm Rose Weasley, my mother is the Mudblood Granger as you would say and I'm proud to say I look like her."

Draco was slightly taken aback Rose had a sharp tongue just like Hermione. "You should be proud your mother was and still is a great witch. You don't get where she is by looks alone." Draco missed his minor slip up, though the human notepad Ginny filed it away for later reference.

The door to the Travelling room suddenly opened and in stepped Draco Junior. Scorpius accompanied by a dark skinned boy who had slightly slanting eyes and jet black ruffled hair; both walked with an air of confidence towards the other group occupying the room.

"Scorpius, Amando I would like to introduce Harry and Ginny Potter and their children, as well as Rose Weasley."

While the Potter-Weasley boys were both wearing jeans and a t-shirt, Scorpius and Amando were dressed much like their fathers did at that age: each had a pair of black pants on, Scorpius had a light blue shirt on while Amando had a dark green almost black shirt that complemented his green eyes, similar to that of his mother.

Both boys nodded their heads in greeting. "Boys, please take James, Albus, Lily and Rose to the equestrian facilities." The pair nodded before holding their arms out for the girls to take … though they didn't.

Once they had exited Draco turned to Harry and Ginny. "She isn't aware you are coming." The _'she'_ obviously meant Hermione, and Ginny nodded.

"How's she holding up?" Harry asked, wrapping his arm around his wife, _'They sound like they're visiting a patient at hospital' _Draco thought, laughing slightly in his head.

"She's acting tough … good old Granger, but even my mother noticed she seems to have lost her spark," he shrugged. "Other than that I've not really noticed."

They began walking through the house in silence. As they made it onto the patio area they could see the children in the distance and Hermione suddenly appeared from behind a privet hedge. Her head was slightly downcast, and she was rubbing at her eyes. When she lifted her gaze she locked with her two best friends before she shifted it to the blonde standing with them, then she shook her head at him as her friends walked down the slight slope towards her.

Draco walked after them, standing slightly to one side as Hermione hugged Harry momentarily before Ginny swept her into a bear hug that would rival Molly Weasley's best. She ignored Draco's presence completely, opting to pretend he didn't exist, concentrating on getting rid of her red eyes instead.

"Is there anywhere we can sit, and talk?" Ginny was directing the question at Draco, who was still staring at Hermione.

Ginny nudged his side breaking his thoughts, "Sorry, I zoned out… can you sit in the lounge room off the entrance hall?"

The group swiftly moved through the house to the lounge room. "I'll leave you to sort this out," Draco said once they were seated. He attempted to get Hermione's attention but she ignored him, instead turning to face the flickering fire.

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"'Mione?" Ginny asked tentatively, "Why didn't you come to us?"

"Yeah… why did you go to the ferret?" Harry chipped in; Ginny slapped his arm for his inconsiderate wording.

After a few minutes Hermione answered still looking into the flames. "I didn't want to ruin your special night." She paused. "And I didn't seek Malfoy out Harry … he just kind of found me."

"I would like to say on behalf of my brother, I'm sorry, maybe you two need to sit and talk about this. You know… sort things o-" Ginny stopped as she saw Hermione shaking her head.

"I can't Ginny. Not anymore. It hurts too much." She sniffed lightly, willing the tears to stay back. "If he wants to be with Lavender Brown then so be it … I won't stand in his way."

"So what are you going to do?" Harry asked quietly.

Hermione finally turned from the flames staring at her two best friends. "I'm going to move into my parents' old house, and I'm going to contact the ministry tomorrow about a divorce." She smiled sadly as she looked from Harry to Ginny, adding. "I wish it could have been different, for Rosie's sake. If it had happened once I could have lived with it, but not this."

"He's done it more than once?" Ginny asked, confused.

Hermione nodded, "I've never caught them like I did yesterday but they usually are in some state of undress," she wiped at her eyes. "That's probably why he's not been to see you … he probably thinks I just needed time to cool down and will be back later, like I usually do."

"Oh." Ginny stood from her seat, walking over to Hermione and enveloping her in another hug. "I wish it was different," Ginny said as she stroked the hair out of Hermione's eyes in a motherly way. Hermione could just manage a nod as she sniffed again, as the tears starting coming like water down Niagara Falls. Harry soon moved over wrapping his arms around Hermione too, sheltering her from the harshness of reality.

When Hermione had calmed down some twenty minutes later, Ginny, being the sister of George; owner of Weasley Wizard Wheezes, tried to make a little joke to lighten the mood, "Think my brother is in need of the Bat Bogey Hex?"

Hermione chuckled slightly, "I already shot a stinging hex at him, right where it hurts." Harry recoiled slightly; knowing what Hermione's stinging hexes could do to his face, imagining that same pain on the genitals made him pale considerably.

The small group of friends continued talking for another two hours. Hermione told them exactly what had happened, and Ginny laid out what she was going to do to him before she and Harry bid her goodbye.

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Harry and Ginny had reluctantly left Hermione sitting and watching the fireplace in the lounge while they went in search of their children. As they walked out of the French doors from the dining room they found Draco sitting at a table on the patio, staring off into the gardens.

"Malfoy?" Ginny asked as she stepped out, his head snapped up to look at her. He tilted his head up to show he was listening. "I just wanted to say … thank you."

"Whatever it's for, you're welcome," and he turned back to the garden.

Ginny made her way to the table where he sat. "You know … with Hermione, I'm glad someone was there for her."

Draco nodded.

"She told us that you invited her back here so she had somewhere to stay, and allowed her to tell you her story, get it off her chest so to speak." Ginny paused momentarily. "So … thank you."

Ginny turned her attention back to her husband, giving him a stern look. He sighed, "Yeah, Ginny's right Malfoy." He extended his hand out to the blonde. "Thanks." Draco eyed them both carefully before accepting the offered hand.

"Is there any chance you can take us to check on the kids? Make sure they haven't killed each other yet?" Draco smirked as he stood and began walking towards the equestrian paddock.

"May I ask why you sent the children off to a paddock?" Harry asked as they got closer.

Draco chuckled, "This isn't just any paddock, Potter." He paused before adding smugly, "This is a Quidditch field." He opened the door, revealing his pride and joy.

While most Muggle men's pride and joy is their cars, Wizarding men take pride in the things they have that no others have, Draco's being his Quidditch Pitch.

"Dear Merlin!" Ginny exclaimed covering her mouth with her hands. "It's huge." She was officially awe struck and that took a lot considering she had spent years travelling to all different stadiums and training grounds as a Quidditch Reporter for the Prophet, and Witch Weekly.

High in the air, the four boys could be seen flying around, one at a goal and the others flying at him, tossing the Quaffle from one to the other. The two girls were sitting off along one side on a bench, talking animatedly with each other and not even watching the boys fly around.

"It's good isn't it?" Draco stated smugly. "It's fitted with safety spells so if you fall off your broom a net will catch you." He located his son in the air, "Scorpius, you're blind siding," meaning that he was turned further away so one side of his body created more of a blind spot than the other. Scorpius corrected himself and headed for the goal one-two-one-ing with Amando before scoring a stunner in the lowest goal to where he was.

"Thanks!" Scorpius' voice shouted back. The girls suddenly concentrated on the game now that the parents were there.

"Is that Albus?" Draco asked, turning to the boy's parents while pointing to the Goalkeeper. Ginny nodded. "Albus? You're not central to the goal posts; it'll be easier to stop them if you are." Albus quickly followed Scorpius' lead of listening to Draco and when James' throw travelled towards the top right goal he was able to stop it.

The boys stopped playing as they saw Draco signal them down. "You should coach," Ginny observed, as the boys touched down.

Draco smirked, "I might do when I retire from playing, and if Malfoy and Son fairs well without too much interference."

Ginny nodded, "I'll gladly give you an interview if you want, and you could even hold classes here through the summer."

"I'll think about it," Draco answered before turning to the children. "You're all welcome to stay as long as you want, but that's up to you," he said as he turned to Harry and Ginny. "Should you need to use the floo network, and you can't find me, just call Miffy and ask her to take you to the Travelling room … You're all welcome to stay for Sunday Roast; I'm sure we can accommodate. You can have a look around the grounds at your leisure. I've got some planning to do with my father."

"Where's my mum?" Rose spoke for the first time.

"She's in the house …" Ginny answered running her hands over Rose's hair.

"Can I see her?"

"I'm not sure if that's the best thing."

"Is it about my dad?"

Harry looked to his wife. "Erm, no…"

"She knows, Harry, or at least she thought something was wrong. Didn't you Rose?" Draco declared from the side.

"I … I don't know what you're talking about."

Draco watched as she scrunched up her nose, not looking him in the eyes.

"You're definitely your mother's daughter," he said before adding, "I'll take you to see her, so you can explain to her yourself." Rose looked confused glancing between Draco and her Aunt and Uncle. "So, are you staying?" he directed at the others.

"Well we're due to see Fleur and Bill tonight, though we appreciate the offer, and if anything happens, you let us know straight away," Ginny warned as they began leaving the Quidditch house, Scorpius and Amando staying behind.

"I will do."

The group re-entered the house, walking to the room where they'd left Hermione, to find she wasn't there.

"Where could she have gone?"

"Probably her room; I'll go check." Draco ran off upstairs to find her, but when he came back down he had a look of confusion on his face. "She's not there." He began wondering if she had left. "Miffy?" The house-elf suddenly appeared. "Have you seen our guest?"

"Yes, Master Draco, Miss was upstairs earlier."

"Where?"

"She was going to the third floor when Miffy was cleaning Master's office," Miffy answered timidly.

Draco heaved a sigh of relief. "She's in the library?" he chuckled. "Thank you, Miffy, that's all I needed." The house-elf smiled before dis-apparating with a pop.

After Rose and Draco had said good-bye to the Potters, Draco took her upstairs. The pair remained quiet as they walked, and Draco gently knocked before entering the library. Books stacked high and wide adorned the walls, with rows and rows of shelves housing more and more books. Windows strategically placed along the wall allowed readers natural light if they wanted it and seating allowed for a place to rest. They found Hermione in the back corner, sniffing softly, sitting on the window sill looking over the vast gardens at the back of the manor.

"Hermione?" Draco said as he came towards her.

"What now Malfoy?" She shook her head, as she remained looking out of the window.

"Mum?" Rose asked softly.

"Rosie?" Hermione asked as she looked around, opening her arms for her only child to walk into. "Oh, Rosie!" Hermione sighed as she kissed her daughter's head, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did so. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to speak to you. I kno-" Rose stopped, seeing that Draco still stood nearby.

"Can we have a few minutes on our own?" Hermione asked, noticing her daughter's reluctance to speak in front of a man she hardly knew.

Draco nodded, and walked out of the room.

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"I know about dad. When we were getting ready to leave for Nana's I heard him talking to Herrol, and he mentioned where the owl was to deliver the message to. I knew what he was sending it there for, that's why I told you to hurry back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, mum, I just didn't know how." Rose looked to Hermione as if seeking redemption for what she had done, but her mum just smiled sadly.

"I know Rosie … it's alright." She hugged Rose to her. "But this time it's serious," she continued, pulling back slightly from Rose. "This time I'm not sure I can go back… I don't want to have to make you choose between us, but I know I won't be returning, so it's up to _you_ who you stay with, me or your dad."

Hermione glanced out of the window to see Draco laughing at someone in the distance before Scorpius ran along laughing also, followed by Amando, who was soaking wet, and her chest tightened. Before delving into where that feeling had come from she got back to the task at hand.

"I'll give you time to think it over, but for tonight we're staying here; then first thing tomorrow we're moving into my parents old place, the one you used to love, near the park."

Mother and Daughter spent the next few hours enjoying each others company, as well as the numerous books in the library.

Much like her mother, Rose had got an early start on all her books for class, having read over them three times already, and was now on her fourth read of _"Hogwarts A History"_. Her mother knew the book so well that Rose could quote a line and Hermione would know what chapter and sub-chapter it came from.

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--Meal Time- At Malfoy Manor--

After Miffy had popped in to tell Hermione and Rose when dinner would be served, the two of them decided they had done enough exploring of the library. Miffy showed Rose to the room next to Hermione's and they each got showered and ready. Rose had been a bit picky over what she was wearing when Hermione said she should wear a dress, grumbling something along the lines of _I never usually have to wear a dress_; though as soon as she had seen the array of colours she looked as if she had died and gone to heaven.

Coincidentally, mother and daughter had each chosen a burgundy colour dress. While Hermione's was a v-neck, knee length dress; Rose's was a scoop neck mid-calf length dress, and each had a pair of red tinged shoes to match, Rose's opting for the flatter of the two.

When they entered the room it was to find all of the Malfoys present as well as Amando; Lucius sat at the head with Narcissa on his right, and Draco on his left; Scorpius and Amando were next to Draco. So Hermione and Rose sat in the two seats next to Narcissa, food appearing as soon as they sat down: Beef Roast, roast potatoes, cooked vegetables, stuffing, gravy and Yorkshire puddings.

Conversation flowed easier than the previous day, and Lucius made an effort to not isolate Hermione or Rose, he even went as far to ask Hermione exactly what she did in her job at the Ministry.

"I'm deputy head of the Department of Law Enforcement, so I basically control each of the sections when the Head is away, I hold meetings and assign the teams based on their experiences and expertise to assignments. I'm also on the Wizengamot which takes up quite a lot of my time."

Lucius nodded his head, quite impressed that she had managed to get so high up in the department considering her background. "I heard a rumour from an associate that the head of department was retiring in a few years, so where do you see yourself at that time?"

Hermione shrugged, as she finished her mouthful of Yorkshire pudding, "Hopefully if I do my job well I should be a candidate for the post."

Lucius nodded again, going quiet, he was once again impressed by her goals and her potential.

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--10 o'clock, that night--

Draco was walking up the stairs from the basement, in search of Hermione, but unsure if she had fallen asleep already. When he reached her room and knocked, he found no answer and so opened the door. He was met with no light as it opened, except for the moonlight shifting in through the open curtains and onto the bed spread. Peering closely, Draco realised Hermione wasn't in the bed but the sheets were slightly ruffled as if she had been sleeping there.

Biting on his bottom lip Draco tried thinking where she could possibly be, when he remembered that she tended to read in order to get herself off to sleep. Deciding to check the library, he deftly made his way up the staircase to the top floor and entered the library. He found her in the same corner she had occupied earlier, leant over a book using a small lantern as her source of light.

"You'll get a headache trying to read in this light," he said, causing her to snap her head up, and he smirked slightly.

"I'm used to … well … you know what they say: Once a book-worm always a book-worm," and she turned back to the book.

"What are you reading?"

"Pride and Prejudice," she stated. "But I doubt you came here to ask what book I was reading," she observed, closing the book on her index finger as a mark to the page she was on, before placing it in her lap.

"Well, no…" he conceded rubbing at his neck, "I came to give you this." He pulled out a small vial containing a purple-coloured liquid.

"A Dreamless sleep potion?"

"Yeah, I thought it was the least I could do. Listen about this morning-" Hermione cut him off.

"It's alright Malfoy, I over reacted."

"You didn't …" he insisted, "I shouldn't have initiated it and put you into an awkward place." He looked towards his shoes.

"Maybe we both initiated it, gave off signals," she shrugged, and when she looked up Draco still wasn't looking at her. "What did you mean this morning? You said you don't '_see me like that._' Like what?" she asked sincerely, remembering his words from earlier.

Still he didn't look at her, choosing instead to pass her the potion, and turn to leave. "Draco?" He ignored her. "Draco, look at me and answer." He continued towards the door, and she jumped off the window sill to catch him.

She caught him at the end of that row of books. "Draco? What did you mean?"

"Please don't make me say it," he asked, steadfastly looking the other way.

Hermione walked around him so she was in front of him, looking up into his stormy grey eyes from her smaller height. "Say what?" He shook his head. "Say what?" she asked again.

"An object of sexual adventure!" he shouted at her. "A one-time lay, and a simple kiss and tell."

Hermione looked shocked at his outburst, "You… you…" She was at a loss for words. "What do you mean?"

"That I'm attracted to you," he stated bluntly. "Having you under me this morning was … exciting." He smirked as she blushed. "I could have quite happily taken you then and there, you looked delightful. I had attempted to leave before I did something rash, but you reacted in the most delicious way, and when you reciprocated the kiss I assumed you wanted it too, but I know you didn't now. So as far as I'm aware, nothing happened, the comment was made so you didn't think I wanted to know you just for that."

He looked towards her, noting her blush just visible in the light cast from the lantern. "So I hope we can continue to be friends," he finished, still holding her gaze. She nodded slowly, and Draco turned to leave.

"Erm, Draco?" He turned back. "Pride and Prejudice is about two people who hated each other because they were opposites. They unwittingly fall in love, but both were too proud to admit it; they almost let their own pride and prejudices come between them."

"What happens in the end?" he asked when she didn't continue.

"Love out-wins them both." Hermione looked at Draco curiously as his smirk found its way onto his face.

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**Author's Note: Guys and gals there you have Chapter Seven, I hope you all like it.**

**Firstly a real big thank you to my Beta's (yeah you heard right I finally got some): Concolor44 and ****Rose Eleanor Schultz, thanks guys. :)**

**Secondly I've decided to give my next big thank you to all those who have reviewed so far (if I miss you let me know);**

**manitou2422, avalena, pstibbons, missny1, margaritama, Enilas, xxcaityxx, Luv2sk8e, Japanatheart89, soccercrazyfreak, WhiteRoses96, Storm-and-Faith, princezzmaya, blackrose4ever, Godess of fanfic, xx Darcy Girl xx, jessirose85, Akira M, amorreal, Team Dramione, amoureux, interdits, SnacoGranger, David Fishwick, Pepper29, voldyismyfather, Spunky-hyper-girl, rhs002, Cherelle Potter and Concolor44.**

**Third note is to all those who got the preview for this chapter; those that reviewed chapter 6 and replied with an answer for if they wanted it or not- who actually thought Harry was going to die?- Let me know if you did and if you liked the spoiler.**

**Fourth to all the readers- please review this chapter, it gives me enough umph to write quicker for the next chapter and get it out quicker. (and you'll get a spoiler, if you ask for one)**

**Fifthly- I have another story out called (How Do I Say?) It's a 14,000 word two chapter Dramione story, please read and review.**

**Lastly- Thank you for sticking with me and until next time,**

**Your humble servant: Scorpio219 x.x. :D**

**P.S. If anyone is interested and has the time... I am looking for a banner for the story. If you plan to do one, send me a PM/review.**


	8. A Juicy Bit of Gossip?

**A/N: Hey guys *ducks under all the thrown objects* I know I know long time no see and all that malarkey but hey I'm here now and with a brand new chapter. :D Okay so I've been M.I.A. for the last few weeks, *coughs* months *cough*. But give me some slack, just a little? A lot of family things have come up, we had my dog put to sleep, my uncle is in hospital and I've moved to University, so it's been hectic. I do hope this chapter will be at least payback for the wait- if not, okay then.**

**Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.**

"_What happens in the end?" he asked when she didn't continue._

"_Love out-wins them both." Hermione looked at Draco curiously as his smirk found its way onto his face._

Chapter 8: Juicy bit of Gossip?

--Monday Morning--

Monday morning came fairly quickly for Draco, but once he woke the day slowed, he watched as Hermione and Rose left his home much to the pleasure of his father and his mother, though he believed the latter enjoyed having another woman around the house. He had told Hermione to take the clothes from the wardrobe in the guest suite, but she had been stubborn and declined.

Currently, Draco sat in the library doing some reading- he was reading the book Hermione had been reading last night- and was awed by the fact that it was so lifelike even though it was set in the mid seventeenth century. He causally turned the page of the book enraptured by the words he could almost picture himself as this Mr Darcy fellow; a rich, good looking man, whose prejudices had held him back for far too long.

But who was his Elizabeth Bennet?

When Draco had finally put the book down due to a slight ache in his neck, he decided to find something else to do and considering he had hardly done a smidgen of work, he decided to start there.

Draco headed up the Quidditch section of the family business, the section he started on his own. While his father had started the potions section due to his love of potions; Draco had started the Quidditch section due to his love of Quidditch; they supplied everything from gloves to snitches, from beaters bats to brooms to professionals and beginners. His mother had even started designing kits along with Pansy's Robe's owner Pansy Zabini; he was hoping to supply all the major British and Irish teams along with the Great Britain National teams by the next Quidditch World Cup in 2014.

Draco took his job seriously, looking over designs for brooms even going as far as to test each one individually, even though the Broom Regulatory Control in the Department of Magical Transportation has to test each broom for safety. Draco had taken it upon himself to have his own quality control he would know if it was as fast as it could be or not, with him being a Professional himself. Not one broom that was on the shelf at the current moment didn't meet the Malfoy seal of approval or Q.U.I.D.D.I.T.C.H. Quality, usage, innovation, drift, drag, indecisive weather, teamwork, control and handling, all these areas were tested on each product.

By mid afternoon he was bored of corporate mumbo jumbo, and words that didn't mean much unless you had a real interest, Draco unlike his father preferred the manual part of his job; he even preferred to go to meetings over reading through files, at least he could ask them to be put into simple English.

Flicking through his diary for tomorrow he noticed that he had, a meeting with Head of the British and Irish Quidditch League. His mother also required him to pick something up from St. Mungo's; he never asked what it was, but the fact that she never asked his father made him believe it was something serious about her health.

'_I think I'll check in on Hermione tomorrow while I'm at the ministry' _he thought as he scanned back up the page. Hermione had said that she was going to have today off to get the house set up with the wards and connecting the Floo network up. Though Draco had a gut feeling she was staying away so that Ron couldn't find her, though if she was she might as well have stayed at the Manor. He also knew the Minister for Magical Marriages didn't have any available appointments for today, because she was away on holiday in the Seychelles and the earliest appointment was tomorrow at mid-morning or brunch. Draco had inherited his father's aptitude for attracting informants at the ministry and he had even managed to attract people who were just general informants.

Late Monday afternoon a large brown barn Owl flew into the Quidditch arena, Draco recognised it almost immediately: Pansy's Owl.

After detaching the letter the bird flew around the arena before settling on one of the wooden beams that outlined the pitch. When Draco turned the envelope over in his hand and began breaking the seal he realised what she had sent him: A Howler.

The message began playing;

_Draco Malfoy, _

_Do I have to keep tabs on you everywhere you are? A juicy bit of gossip and you left me out? _

_What if someone else had heard that two thirds of the Golden Trio had a spat and you of all people had offered accommodation to them? How would that make me look?_

_I'm supposed to be the one who spreads gossip I am the Queen Gossiper; we WILL have words Mister you better be home because I'm coming around, now, there's no stopping me, cancel all your appointments._

The letters shrieking voice stopped without even saying who it was from before bursting into flames.

----------

Once Draco had packed all the equipment away and took a quick shower he wandered back to the house, not bothering to dry his hair fully. He entered to find the atmosphere tense and Pansy pacing around the lounge.

"Pans" he acknowledged walking towards the liquor cabinet, when Pansy was in this type of mood it was always good to have at least some alcohol readily available. If only to numb the slight ringing in the ears due to the shrieking she often did.

"What's this I hear about Granger? Amando said she was staying here, is she still here?"

Draco shook his head before motioning to the Firewhiskey "Want one?"

"No and you shouldn't either it's not even night time" she chastised.

"And? I'm my own man" he replied dropping into a chair, the bottle in one hand his tumbler in the other.

"So? What about Granger?"

"What about her?" Draco shrugged as he downed one glass, before pouring himself another.

"What was she doing here for one? Did the pair of you shag?" Pansy asked crudely.

"She had a falling out with her husband; she needed somewhere to stay… I offered, she accepted, she stayed over the weekend," he listed off, knocking at the air around him with the hand holding the bottle in a dismissing action. "And no we didn't even have sex" he added at seeing she looked about ready to interject.

"And?" she asked impatiently.

"And what Pans?" he asked, as he liberally sipped on his drink.

"What did they fall out over?"

"I'm not saying"

"Drake?" he shook his head not answering. She walked over taking his drink from his hand, but he summoned another tumbler and poured another one… this time she took both the bottle and the tumbler away from him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

"You've not been like this since… Hogwarts- when you found out you were betrothed to Astoria." She paused "Is this something to do with Astoria?"

"That was never about Astoria!" he shouted in a manner as if accusing her that she knew the truth.

"Well how was I supposed to know? You never came to me to talk about it, it was always Blaise… he never said anything to me and neither did you. You just dismissed me like a house-elf saying it was men business." She paused as she crouched down on the floor so she could see his eyes, as he had dropped his head forward. "So? Are you going to tell me what was wrong then?"

"I can't believe he did it Pans… I knew he was low but not that low!" Draco stated shaking his head as if trying to work out a difficult problem.

Pansy looked around confused as to who he was talking about, "Who are we talking about?"

"Weaselbee… the ginger-" he trailed.

Her ears perked up at the name- obviously she was right Draco did have some gossip to spread.

"What did he do?" she asked, if it had promoted this much of a reaction from Draco who didn't like either of the Golden Couple to the best of her knowledge then it had to be good… better than good it had to be gold- _'oh to be the first to announce it.'_

Pansy hadn't changed much from her Hogwarts years; she was still a pretentious snob, but the war had helped tame her rather rude behaviour, instead of shouting or shrieking her insults to those that she is offended by; she now writes them in her column of _"Witch Weekly" _a gossip column that never gets a rumour wrong, a reason not many witches or wizards tended to cross her. Her pug like features had schooled slightly though on off days they would return with vengeance, and she had grown her dark brown hair out more past her shoulders than she had it at in her late teens. Through her years at Hogwarts, she was known among the Slytherin as the fix-it-girl; she could fix the boy troubles, girl troubles, wardrobe malfunctions and had stepped up for lower students when they were in trouble with pranks, using her prefect badge to her advantage.

"Who would do it? What self respecting man would do that?" Draco rambled slightly, "It just doesn't make any sense… gorgeous, absolutely bloody beautiful!" Draco shook his head, he was becoming slightly drunk, it didn't often take much for him to become tipsy when he was angry.

"Did he have an affair?" Pansy asked when Draco didn't answer she shrieked, "He did… oh this is so much better than what I thought."

He furrowed his eyebrows seemingly coming out of his confused; drink induced state hissing "You're not to print anything."

"Why?" she asked shocked, "It's not like you care what happens to either of them." He remained silent, "You do?" she asked confused, "But how? Granger?" she felt that she was in another dimension, "When did this happen?"

He shrugged, "She did a lot for me… why would I want to ruin her?"

"This is deeper than that" she paused pulling her head back as if assessing the situation from the outside. "You care!" she accused.

"I don't" Draco insisted.

--Tuesday--

-Draco-

Draco had awoken much earlier than he usually did; he was examining the events of the last few days and especially Pansy's voice saying "you care" over and over again like a stuck record, made that a pinpointed subject in his thoughts.

Could he actually care?

Or was it a case of lust? - He couldn't have her, she was out-of-bounds, therefore he wanted her.

It was undeniable that Draco had an attraction to this witch, in particular, who wouldn't? She was smart, loving and if that wasn't enough she could rival even Draco's sharp wit. But what was the basis for this, merely that he wanted to repay her kindness or was it deeper?

--8.45--

Draco continued to think over what Pansy had said as he stood in his shower cubicle, the hot spray bouncing water in every which way as it hit his back, his muscles tensed as he recalled telling Hermione that he found her attractive, he remembered her reaction; she had blushed and he had been surprised she hadn't brushed off his confession as something silly and less than what it was.

Thinking of the moment he had had her under him Draco found himself aroused, not many women could promote that kind of reaction from Draco without a bit of harmless foreplay, yet he recalled a time during their final year when she did just that:

_She was sitting on the plush settee in their common room a heavy volume of books stacked around her as she scribbled on some parchment. She was wearing a pair of simple tan coloured linen shorts and a vest that left nothing to the imagination- if only the book on her lap didn't hide that fact. Her knees were pulled up to her chest as far as they could go but still allowed her ample room to be able to write, she was biting lightly on her bottom lip, as her eyes scanned the book in front of her one line at a time before she scribbled on her parchment her eyebrows furrowing. Her curls were clipped haphazardly into a bun at the back of her head a few shorter strands dropping to frame her heart shaped face._

That was a simple memory that Draco had quite often relied upon to relieve tension developing in his groin; she had looked so innocent, minding her own business doing what a book-worm does best. And yet he found it dare he think sexy?

The recalling of that particular memory had Draco almost doubling over as a pain developed down below, as he became as hard as a rock and in need of relieving himself- carefully gripping himself, he began what was soon becoming a morning ritual.

Once he had finished he began the scrubbing of his body, cleaning all remnants of his solo effort before finally rinsing the soap off and stepping out of the shower. Tying a loose towel around his hips he exited the bathroom walking towards his walk-in wardrobe.

After selecting a light blue long sleeve shirt, and a beige suit; a waist coat and matching pants he dressed and left the house for his first appointment of the day with Healer Jenkins.

_--St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries--_

_--9.10--_

Draco's apparition landed him in the middle of a Muggle Park of a sizable portion, in between a coppice that had formed after years lacking maintenance; luckily for Draco he hadn't damaged his dragon hide beige shoes by landing in the nearby pond. Wrapping his cloak further around his body he found the entrance/exit to the park and began making his way down the road towards the dilapidated department store: Purge and Dowse Ltd. A funny name considering what it actually housed.

At first glance, the red bricked building looked like any store in need of renovation but it housed a secret; much like the wall between platform nine and ten at Kings' Cross station, which transported people to platform nine and three quarters. Purge and Dowse Limited was a front for St. Mungo's hospital.

Draco walked over to the shop window before looking up at the third mannequin along and stating his business for being there, the mannequin nodded once and Draco was able to step through the glass window into the reception area of the hospital. Knowing which floor he needed to visit he caught one of the service lifts to the third floor:

_Potions and Plant Poisoning_

Tracing his usual root through the mirage of similar looking white corridors it wasn't long before he reached the office of the person he was looking for. Healer Jenkins was a plump woman with slightly greying hair but youthful looking piercing green eyes she was the senior healer for the ward and always amazed Draco when he saw her.

She never seemed to be rushing as she glided around the wards but was always the first to react. He had once seen her hold down a strong looking man single handily when they refused to let him see his "true love" the same woman who had fed him a highly concentrated form of amortentia, Healer Jenkins had held him until two younger male healers appeared to strap the man down.

"So how are you today Mr. Malfoy?" she asked politely as she seated herself in the seat behind the desk signalling for him to take the one opposite on the other side of the table.

"I'm very good Healer Jenkins, I've just come to collect my mothers prescription," she nodded before she spun around on her chair pulling a filing cabinet door out. Skimming through the thousands of files occupying the tiny space, she stopped and pulled out a file, a tab stating N. Malfoy (Black) indicated that it was Narcissa's medical file.

The healer scanned over the numerous pieces of parchment attached to the file, nodding to herself as she did. "It's as I thought, umm Mr Malfoy can you ask your mother to make an appointment to see me as soon as possible?"

"What's wrong?" he asked suddenly very suspicious, and seeing the healer's eyebrows furrow like that would set anyone off.

The older woman shook her head, "Nothing is serious Mr Malfoy… she's just due in for her examination." Draco nodded and the woman stood, "I'll just go and get her prescription for you."

As the door clicked shut Draco jumped from his chair to move around to the other side of the desk and flicked open his mother's records, only the pages were blank, he rushed through each piece of parchment hoping to find one that was wrote on. The only one was the final piece of parchment an official looking document that was stamped with the Ministry of Magic seal- her birth certificate. Scanning it Draco saw nothing untoward and so closed the file sitting back in his chair before Healer Jenkins returned.

The plump woman returned seconds later carrying an orange potion of some form, she handed it over to Draco who pocketed it before she walked around to her side of the desk. Draco began making his way to the door, "Did you find what you were looking for Mr Malfoy?" she asked sweetly.

'_Of course she knows I didn't find anything'_ Draco thought, _'She knows there's some kind of privacy spell on the file.'_ He turned around to look at the woman narrowing his eyes slightly but didn't answer her.

"If you are truly that intrigued to find out, why don't you ask your mother?" he huffed audibly before he exited the room in search of the lifts again.

As he was waiting for the lift to arrive Draco looked at the time and realised he had time to spare before he was due at the Ministry, so he decided to take a slight detour upstairs to the fifth floor and the maternity ward.

_--Fifth Floor Maternity Ward--_

Draco once again navigated the corridors with ease locating the ward he was looking for; the anti-natal ward, he walked over to the reception desk and politely asked where the person he was looking for was and a starry eyed mid-wife healer pointed him down the ward.

He casually walked down the ward noticing he seemed to be getting stared at almost constantly by the women in each bed-cot. Draco suddenly stopped when he heard the voice of the person he came to see.

"-Well congratulations Ms Brown, I am happy to say the baby is healthy" Draco furrowed his eye brows before hitting his thoughts away reminding himself _'Brown is an extremely common name.'_ though the slight nagging feeling in his stomach begged to differ.

Continuing to listen to the cubicles occupants he was surprised to not hear a male voice. He had accompanied Astoria to every single appointment at the hospital when she was pregnant with Scorpius.

"So who's the lucky father? Do I know him?" he heard a slightly mumbled reply that sounded a cross between a reluctant yes and an adamant no.

"Is this your first child?"

He clearly heard the affirmative reply and his mind was swimming with questions; who was this woman? Why did this particular healer seem to know her well, yet not know they had never had a child before?

Draco's immediate answer to both counts was that the woman had gone to Hogwarts.

He didn't recognise the unknown woman's voice but she was talking extremely low, so he couldn't conclude whether he knew her or not- so he was left to speculate until he saw her.

"I remember when I was pregnant with my Olivia" the healer continued, "It was one of the best and the worst times of my life." She paused, "And she was a kicker though admittedly not as much as my son, I wouldn't change any of it for the world, and you'll probably be the same."

Draco heard another mumbled reply before the healer spoke again; "Well that's all for today… and I'll see you in a few weeks."

Draco hurried so he was on the other side of the cubicle as the patient stepped out, unfortunately he couldn't see her face only the back of her hair as she sauntered away her hips swinging as she went, her long blonde hair swishing from side to side leaving a trail of heavily laden perfume in her wake.

Stepping into the cubicle Draco noticed the healer was muttering to herself as she cleaned the bedding of the towel clothes the patient had been sat on.

"That woman drives me insane, argh," Draco chuckled causing the healer to snap her attention to him.

"That's not very nice to talk about a patient like that Daph, what would your superiors think?"

Daphne Greengrass was a very good friend of Draco's and unlike Pansy had never had a sexual relationship with him, it was purely platonic. Overshadowed by her family's status and her upbringing, Daphne was never able to fully develop into her uniqueness, she just like her sister was highly intelligent and focused a lot on education and succeeding. Though, a contributing fact may have been the fact that their mother was a Pureblood Ravenclaw who had a strong work ethic.

Daphne had remained in close contact with Draco because he was betrothed to her sister, but also because she saw him as her big brother when her father was arrested. She had been the one originally lined up to be married to Draco, but she had told her mother she had designs on the marginally older Terence Higgs, who she had come to see more of during the summer after the War and who she was dating during the Malfoy-Greengrass nuptial plans.

"Have you tried staying in the same room as a Gryffindor on your own?" she looked back at him, "Damn you have and you've spent longer than I ever will, though she is a lot nicer than this one" she huffed as she straightened the bed.

During her seventh year Daphne came out of her shell more, with her father in Azkaban she no longer had the pressure of pro-blood-ism, and found comfort in her education and making friends in other houses, though that was mainly Ravenclaw with no Hufflepuff friends and only two Gryffindor students- Hermione and Ginny. With Hermione's help especially she managed to get the necessary Exceeds Expectation in N.E.W.T. Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, and even managed an Outstanding in Herbology and Charms in order to become a healer like she had always wanted to do.

"Who was that?"

"Lavender Brown of course!"

"She's pregnant?"

**A/N: So that's the end of Chapter 8; as always your comments are greatly appreciated.**

**My special thanks goes out to- **Rose Eleanor Schultz **my wonderful beta, who corrects all my bad grammar.**

And thanks to these guys;**jennygryffindor**, **undiscovered nightingale**,**Luida**,**mgmve2008** (I would have replied to your review but your PM Service is disabled so I couldn't, so thank you for the review and I'm glad your loving it so far and continue to read) **jessirose85**,**HarryPGinnyW4eva**, **xxcaityxx**, **amorreal**, **rhs002** (I'm glad you are loving it to and continue to read), **avalena**,**soccercrazyfreak**, and last but not least **ayoAOx**.

My final point is this, because as aforementioned I am now at University my time will be dedicated to getting my degree and as such writing will be a sanity saviour when I need it. Updates will probably be really slow- but don't let that put you off.

As always let me hear your views on this chapter and if you add the story to your alerts or favourites I ask that you please leave a review- this was my first ever fan-fiction and I'd like to know why people like it/dislike it, and if my style is appropriate to you all.

Scorpio219 x.x.


	9. Bloody Proof

**Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.**

"_Who was that?"_

"_Lavender Brown of course"_

"_She's pregnant?"_

* * *

Chapter 9: Bloody Proof

"Yeah, I don't know who the father is; she either doesn't know herself which wouldn't surprise me or she doesn't want to share it."

Draco shook his head, "Shit," he looked towards Daphne, "Did she seem surprised that she was pregnant?"

She shook her head, "Of course not, she stopped getting her anti-pregnancy potion about six months ago, she obviously hoped or knew this would happen… She was over the moon when she came in last month and I told her she was pregnant… She did that really grating squeak, hugging me and such." Daphne flung her arms around momentarily as a sign of frustration before roughly tucking the bedding underneath the bed. "That woman annoys me too much, and yet they insist I am the one to deal with her."

"Do you have _any_ inclination of who the father is?" Draco fished for a definitive answer for his assumptions.

"Well my guess is a wizard" she paused and Draco furrowed his eye brows, "She's not the strongest magical ability and that baby is stronger than her, so my guess would be a wizard. As for who? I have no idea. You'd have to ask Pansy if she knows who Lavender's going out with. Imagine if it was a married man… Pansy would die to bring down a Gryffindor." Draco paled considerably.

"Daph, I need you to not tell Pans… if you do it will blow back up in her face." Then a light bulb seemed to go off in the back of his head, "I'll go speak to Ms Brown… see if I can get who the father is out of her."

Daphne furrowed her eyebrows at Draco, wondering what he was going to do, and why he was doing it. "I have an assumption of who I think it is… and if it is, as much as I would love to bring them down, I can't do it to the other innocents involved."

He decided not to go into detail about his assumptions preferring to keep his cards close to his chest. Daphne simply nodded, "I hope you will tell me, but I won't mention anything to Pansy."

Draco nodded smiling, "That's all I ask" he quickly kissed each of Daphne's cheeks, "Now if you'll excuse me I'll leave you to hormonal women and see you next weekend?" He was referring to the next Quidditch Match taking place this coming weekend between Puddlemere United and Appleby Arrows, her answer was a nod before Draco took off down the corridor.

He reached the lift having sprinted to find Lavender still waiting.

Deciding to play it cool he stood back from her and when the lift arrived he stepped forward before bowing slightly stretching his arm out to the door, "Ladies first" she giggled and stepped forward. "Do I know you? You look familiar" he stated as he stepped in after her.

She looked up at him briefly, "Yeah, I'm Lavender Brown!" She squealed.

He faked a smile, "Ah a Gryffindor."

She smiled again, "And you're a Slytherin Mr. Malfoy."

He smirked, turning the Malfoy charm up, "Call me Draco," he leant forward capturing her hand bring it to his lips.

She pulled it away slowly, "I guess I shouldn't be doing that…" Draco stated seriously, and when she looked up at him he sighed, "You're already taken, I assume."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well you've just been to the maternity ward, and anatomy deduces that there must be a man in your life."

Lavender nodded slowly a strong waft of her perfume reaching Draco's nose, causing him to gag slightly.

"And who may I ask is the lucky man?" he asked as the lift pulled to a stop at the ground floor and everyone vacated the small space.

She blushed but didn't answer, so Draco used another tactic, "I for one always thought you and Ron Weasley were a good match," her smile grew. "Is it him?" Draco asked, "You're blushing, is that my answer?"

She nodded mutely, "Well congratulations are in order I guess." He shook his head as if to expel a bad thought catching Lavender's attention.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing… it's just I didn't think him and Granger had split, I haven't heard anything unless Potter's helped to keep it out of the press." Her smile faltered momentarily.

"Won-won said he was leaving her soon." Draco unconsciously rolled his eyes, how many times had people used that line… and he felt more nausea overcome him at her use of his Weaselbee's nickname.

"Well still I must congratulate you both," he glanced at the clock above the reception desk, "Oh look at the time, I really must be going I've got a meeting in five minutes. It was nice seeing you Ms. Brown and good luck." He faked a smile before leaving the hospital.

_--11.30am--_

By the end of his meeting with Head of the British and Irish Quidditch League, Draco was in a foul mood, he had a continuous scowl gracing his features. Hebarked at people who got in his way as he made his way from level seven: Department of Magical Games and Sports, to level two: Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

He stepped out of the second level and walked casually over to a receptionist's desk, "Can I help you Mr. Malfoy?" she asked politely, smiling up at him.

He nodded, "Yes, I'm looking for Hermione Gr- Weasley?" the woman looked over his shoulder briefly but Draco didn't bother to turn around.

"Ah yes Mrs. Weasley's just come in," she paused as she pulled out a parchment with a map on it, "Her office is here" she pointed on the map, "Walk down this corridor, turn left and then the first right, that's her section. Her office is the end one there." She smiled sweetly as Draco took the map off her, scanning it, before giving it back.

Draco walked along the corridor he had been directed, taking a left he saw a flash of a brown curly mane as it rounded the corner, picking up his stride; he rounded the next right to see Hermione walking ahead of him.

"Hermione?" he shouted causing the person to swivel revealing them self to him, though their footsteps didn't finish.

A woman's voice sounded "Mrs. Weasley," only seconds before Hermione stumbled slipping on some water on the floor and crashing to the floor.

Draco dropped the cloak he had looped over his arm, his anger dissipating as he rushed to help the injured woman. He soon became surrounded by employees as they rallied to help any way they could, glad to be able to stop their work even momentarily.

He barked out orders to the people around sending them off for certain things before he graciously picked the unconscious women off the floor, asking which one was Hermione's office.

An older woman stepped forward to lead him to Hermione's office, "It's this one," she ushered him in switching on the lights dimly so that he could see what he was doing. A younger man entered seconds later holding a damp cloth, passing it to the woman before scurrying back out to his desk gawking through Hermione's office window much like the other employees.

Hermione's work colleagues all whispered amongst themselves wondering but mainly speculating why Draco Malfoy, world renowned Quidditch player, was here in this part of the building as well as being here to see Hermione Weasley of all people. As far as the gossipers knew she rarely if ever spoke to the man, and thus he had no real reason to be here.

Inside the office Draco's wand was running up and down Hermione's body focusing on her head and ankles for any sign of injury. Though none were identified her shoes were ruined: the heel having snapped off and they had slight water damage, as well as being in good need of a polish. A head trauma had knocked her unconscious, though there was no terminal damage.

Draco carefully took each shoe off, giving the foot a small massage to start blood flow, before he turned and exited the room to find his over cloak. A rather chirpy, attractive woman walked towards him.

"Here you go Mr. Malfoy!" She handed the coat over as a blush spread across her cheeks before she blew a kiss towards him.

Laughing to himself with his notorious smirk on his face, he walked back to Hermione's office, closing the blinds to deter the onlookers as he went. Once back inside, he knelt next to Hermione, holding her hand as he spoke to the older woman who was still in the room.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," he handed his unoccupied right hand over to the woman.

"I know who you are Mr. Malfoy-" she said shaking his hand.

He interrupted her, "Please call me Draco- Mr. Malfoy is my father."

"Well, M- Draco, I'm Elizabeth, Mrs. Weasley's assistant." Draco's tongue extended as if he had a bad taste in his mouth, _'Weasley'_.

But Elizabeth chose to ignore him, "What, may I ask, are you doing in this neck of the woods."

Draco smirked, when Hermione had first used that Muggle term during their seventh year he had been confused, but know he knew what it meant he found it odd that another witch was using it to.

"Either you're Muggle-born or Hermione said that saying to you."

The woman smiled obviously used to people being slightly rude to her, "I'm half-blood and yes Hermione did tell it me. But that doesn't answer my question."

He conceded bowing his head slightly, "I came to see if she was alright" he rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand as he looked towards the other woman, "She's had a rough couple of days."

"I wasn't aware you and Hermione were on friendly terms…" she trailed as she added in her head _'especially as you're being very affectionate.' _

Draco was saved from replying when a delirious Hermione came to, "Ron?"

--Tuesday--

--Hermione--

Having taken the previous day off work to sort out some of the added security measures at her and Rose's new house Tuesday was Hermione's first day back to work. She had sent an owl late Sunday evening in order to make an appointment for sometime on Monday to meet with the Minister for Marriages, unfortunately a letter had returned stating the Minister was out and she wouldn't be back until Tuesday. Hermione had then made an appointment for first thing in the morning Tuesday, deciding to get it out of the way before she got back into her routine.

Though Hermione thought it would be an easy affair, simply a case of ask for a divorce and you shall receive- fate seemed to have another idea as Hermione found…

--Morning--

Hermione wasn't due back into work until lunch time so she decided to use the visitor's entrance into the Ministry of Magic; walking along Great Scotland Yard she came to the run down red phone box she needed, looking around to make sure there were no Muggles hanging around she entered the phone box.

She picked up the receiver to be able to dial the number: 6-2-4-4-2 and a voice suddenly sounded out in the confined space. "Please state your name and business."

"Umm, yes Hermione Granger, I'm here for a meeting with the Minister for Marriages," a slight pause followed at the other end before a silver visitors badge appeared with her name and purpose, before the phone box began acting like a lift taking her down towards the Atrium of the Ministry.

She walked along the crowded Atrium towards the golden gates at the end of the corridor, her heels clicking on the polished dark wood floor periodically with each stride she took, and the occasional double step as she avoided someone coming at her or an inter-department memo. She stopped mid way to be awe inspired by The Fountain of Magical Brethren before she continued to the gate and the security by it.

"Morning Mrs. Weasley," the aging watchwizard: Eric Munch said as she approached.

"Good morning to you to Eric," she glanced down at him as she stopped, at his furrowed eyebrows she simply said, "I'm not due in until dinner. I have another meeting to get to."

"Oh just go in," the man stated as he waved her ahead.

Hermione shook her head, "You know I can't do that Eric, regulation dictates you need to register my wand" being a stickler for the rules was one characteristic of Hermione's which hadn't been lost over the years.

"Mrs. Weasley you have worked here for about ten years, I know you don't mean any harm."

"Yes, but how do you know I'm not a Polyjuice version? Seeking to bring down the Ministry?" She tried to justify her sticking to the rules.

"Because you wouldn't go spreading that around, you would have walked past by now," a voice drawled at the side of Hermione.

Eric chuckled, "Right you are Mr. Zabini" Hermione turned to make sure it was the man she thought it was- Blaise Zabini, "And what can I do for you this lovely day Mr. Zabini?"

"You can register my wand… I'm due to the Portkey Office soon, yet another trip to Italy is needed." He shook his head as he held out his wand for the older gentlemen. Who took Hermione's once he had given Blaise his back.

When Hermione's had been checked she turned around to find Blaise waiting for her, quirking an eyebrow she waited for him to explain. "I thought we could talk," she raised her eye brows more at the statement but nodded anyway. "I heard you have been hanging around Malfoy Manor?" it was more a statement than a question but it broke the awkward conversation slightly.

The simply nod in answer to his query satisfied him that she was going to answer; "I don't care about the reasons though Pansy will probably hex me to next week for not asking, I just have the feeling that something important is going on between you and Draco…"

Scrunching her nose Hermione held her hand up to stop him, "Nothing is going on between me and Malfoy, he was kind enough to offer me somewhere to stay when I needed it. That's it."

"It's just I came back from Italy to find my wife grilling our son about you and Draco, though she wouldn't tell me what it was."

"Have you spoken to Malfoy about it?"

Blaise shook his head, "He's due round to Zabini Villa tonight for our weekly get together" he shrugged his shoulders, "I doubt he'll even answer my question directly… he often needs to have fifteen glasses before he unwinds and drops his guard. Like the time in seventh year when he found out he was bet-" he cut himself off abruptly.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows,_ 'He couldn't possibly be talking about the time Malfoy came back to their dorm smelling like a brewery'_. Draco had returned to find Hermione sitting on a chair near the fire, a blanket wrapped around her to her shoulders and book in hand. He stood rooted to the spot just inside the door as he stared at her form… for all intents and purposes she looked asleep. A book was held tightly in her hand, but it wasn't in a position she could read it. The position she was in looked rather like she had stopped mid sentence and fell asleep. Draco's mumbling had roused her slightly but she didn't open her eyes, she heard a few comprehendible words such as "love" "sorry" and something about a "shock" he stopped himself through his mid confession by falling asleep on their common room settee. She had found out the next day that he was betrothed to Astoria Greengrass and summarised that's what he had been mumbling about.

"Maybe you and Rose is it?" Hermione was brought from her thoughts by Blaise speaking again just before the lift came, "Can come round to the Zabini Villa as well?"

"That's a generous offer Blaise, but… I just want a quiet night in." She stepped into the lift before him.

He nodded "I know we don't really get on, but considering our children are both off to Hogwarts this time around, I thought we could try."

"That seems fair," she simply stated, and the lift began moving. "Rosie mentioned she had met Amando the other day." She smiled a knowing smile, "If I remember correctly you called that name to one of your Owl's. Except he, had Mister before."

Blaise smirked, "Nothing gets past you does it." He nodded his head slightly still smirking, "Amando means lovable in Italian- when he was born Pansy said he looked cute and lovable… she never says that about other children, thus we called him Amando."

"Does Amando know what his name means?"

Blaise chuckled, "Unfortunately that boy already thinks he's god's gift to women, it's his mother and her friend's fault really, they're forever cooing over him. Imagine what would happen if he knew his name means lovable. Though, he probably will find out soon enough anyway because he's learning Italian- he says he wants to show off what he knows; in his mother's words, "Girls love a man who can speak another language." Blaise shook his head, "He also wanted Scorpius to learn it to so he could communicate with him like me and Draco used to do."

Hermione furrowed her brows, "I wasn't aware Draco could speak that much Italian"

Blaise nodded a smirk forming on his face, "Rather gifted actually, but don't tell him I said that. He also knows French and prefers to use that."

Hermione smiled, "I'm well aware he knows French he used to mutter in French if he fell asleep on the common room couch or curse in it occasionally."

"Let me guess, you know French?" she nodded and Blaise let out a hollow chuckle, "Draco would die if he knew you spoke it to." Hermione never got to ask what the dark-skinned man meant as the lift stopped on Level Six: Department of Magical Transportation and he stepped out bidding Hermione a good day.

* * *

Hey guys, look time no see, please don't kill me, a lot has happened again this month, and my workload at Uni is crippling. You should be grateful this is in at all, unfortunately I forgot to do it for my birthday, which was the 22nd November, as promised to a dear reader of mine.

But it's before christmas, an early present for you all.

Now, to take my time t advertise- for all that don't know about this site you should check it out, especially if your a Hermione fan. It's Grangerenchanted a Hermione centric site, the link is on my profile.

Thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter ;)

And please review this one.

All my love Scorpio219 x.x.


	10. Bloody Proof Part II

**Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.**

_Previously:_

"_Let me guess, you know French?" she nodded and Blaise let out a hollow chuckle, "Draco would die if he knew you spoke it to." Hermione never got to ask what the dark-skinned man meant as the lift stopped on Level Six: Department of Magical Transportation and he stepped out bidding Hermione a good day._

Chapter 10: Bloody Proof- Part II

Once Hermione finally reached the level she required she glanced at her watch- thirty minutes early, she sighed and once she had made her attendance known sat in the waiting room, picking up one of the magical magazines there she began reading.

Her meeting with the Minister for marriages was a rather heated exchange of words to put it lightly and all Hermione wanted to do as she left was curl up on her office couch with a good book, a few chocolates or fifty never to be heard from again. As it was she had already accumulated one blemish of a day off on her otherwise perfect attendance record and as such needed to work through the stacks of papers that would have somehow found their way onto her desk.

Stepping out of the lift onto the second floor she nodded a greeting to Lucy the receptionist who was sat talking to someone at the desk before walking towards her office navigating through the throngs of people along the way her head lowered. Rounding the second corner the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt the familiar feeling as if someone was watching her, turning around she saw nobody approaching and picked up her speed that little bit more.

If one thing the War had taught her it was to be vigilant- if it felt as if you were being watched you more than likely were.

She felt the exact same feeling seconds before her name was called out, by a rather familiar masculine voice, but as her head swivelled around to face the person her body continued to walk a slight delay on her part. Most people would have just come to a stop once their bodies caught up but Hermione's rather awful start to the day just got worse, that momentarily lapse between her head and her legs caused her to firstly miss the canary yellow warning sign and secondly the large water trail beyond the sign. A second feminine voice sounded out as it called her name but it was too late Hermione's footing soon found itself sliding before she dropped to the floor.

The last thing Hermione remembered was the sucking in of breath around her and a sharp pain from a blow to her head.

----------

Hermione slowly started to become conscious again, she was acutely aware of the slight pressure on her feet as warm hands gently kneaded them, a few seconds seemed to pass before a hand grasped her hand followed by muffled voices. A sudden smell caught her attention- a flowery overpowering fragrance in a rather potent dose. When the thumb of the warm hand began circling intricate patterns in an intimate way- she remembered where she knew that smell.

It was the smell he often came home reeking of.

"Ron?"

----------

"No it's me- Draco" he whispered.

"You've been to see her again" she shouted suddenly.

Draco looked around confused, "Hermione it's me-" he touched her arm but she jerked it out of the way.

"You said you weren't seeing her anymore… you lied" a single tear formed in her the corner of her eye.

Draco gently shook her, "Hermione it's me Draco" her eyes suddenly opened fully, and Draco visibly relaxed. "Could you get a small vial of Calming Draught?" he directed at Elizabeth who hurried off.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked quietly, "What are you doing here?"

He smiled a rare genuine smile, "I came to see you, are you okay?"

She nodded as she attempted to sit up, Draco immediately tried to help, but she simply stated that she could do it herself.

"How did your meeting with the Minister go?"

Hermione closed her eyes, rubbing at the back of her head, wincing when she nudged the slowly forming bruise. "Not good… Actually it was rather bad."

----------

--The meeting with the Minister for Marriages--

Hermione flicked over yet another page of the magazine and was greeted with a rather large headline and full page spread of the magazine's annual "Bachelor of the Year" competition. The main picture showed Malfoy holding a sabre in one hand as a crown was placed on his head from his win the previous year, his infamous smirk plastered on his face.

The accompanying article outlined each of the runners for the year some of which were in their late eighties. When Hermione skimmed to see who the writer of the article was she was unsurprised to read the name Pansy Zabini signed elegantly at the base. As she turned the page she sucked in a large breath as she was greeted by a double page spread about just Malfoy, once again the reporter was Pansy but unlike the previous page she decided to read the article.

"… _Draco Malfoy is best known for being the son of famous Death Eater Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy née Black one of the last of the Black Family line. He is also acknowledged as a leading Quidditch player and the heir to the whole Malfoy estate and a former Prince of Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but what of the man behind all these titles? Many have attempted to get behind the cool exterior he extends to most but only a select few have seen the real Draco Malfoy- the caring single-father. Since the death of his wife last year Draco Malfoy he has struggled and revelled in the ability for him to exercise his fatherly nature, seen on a regular basis in the past months he has been spotted constantly with his son in and around Wizarding Britain and abroad." _

The first paragraph was separated from the next by a moving photo of Draco and Scorpius walking down Diagon Alley followed by fans as Draco occasionally signed autographs as he walked along.

"…_Draco holds the traits of any other Malfoy Heir and along with the title comes the pressures of finding a wife suitable to rise to the challenge of being the next Lady Malfoy. Though that shoe will be hard to fill as the current Lady Malfoy is the epitome of a person of that title. Draco has and always will be- loyal to those he loves, and this article will focus on the Draco Malfoy behind closed doors." _

"_His world revolves around his son: Scorpius who is set to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September. Draco's main priority has always been his family and since the death of his wife Astoria that has been no different. At home Draco…"_

Hermione was stopped reading mid-sentence as someone called her name, looking up she saw the red-headed Minister for Marriages stood at her office door, tapping her foot- a sign of impatience. Placing the magazine down she made a mental note to read the rest of the article, curious of what it would say about the blonde, before she stood and walked into the office followed by the slightly short, plump woman. In many ways the older woman reminded Hermione of Mrs Weasley- the same red headed style of hair, same short plump figure though this woman was slightly shorter than her Weasley look-a-like.

--30 Minutes into the meeting--

"So you're telling me I can't just come and ask for a divorce... I need proof?"

* * *

**A/N: Uhhh a cliffy, oh how I love thee.**

**Guys and girls that was yet another chapter of Enough, sorry it's short but hey it's up. I'm trying to balance my university work, writing and my social life, and so far writing is taking a back seat.**

**Please review, and thank you to those that did so last chapter, my aim is to get 100 reviews soon. :)**

**Scorpio219 x.x.**


	11. Chapter 11

_Previously:_

_Hermione was stopped reading mid-sentence as someone called her name, looking up she saw the red-headed Minister for Marriages stood at her office door, tapping her foot- a sign of impatience. Hermione stood and walked into the office followed by the slightly short, plump woman. In many ways the older woman reminded Hermione of Mrs Weasley- the same red headed style of hair, same short plump figure though this woman was slightly shorter than her Weasley look-a-like._

_--30 Minutes into the meeting--_

"_So you're telling me I can't just come and ask for a divorce... I need proof?"_

Chapter 11

The other woman nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately that is the case Mrs Weasley, since the war ended a sanctioning came into effect that even those marriages where Wizarding bonds weren't used were deemed under the same banner as Wizarding Marriages and as such the only way to dissolve a marriage or in your case divorce a spouse is by proving they committed adultery, or any other act that could bring harm to you and your family."

Hermione sniffed lightly; "I have proof, I caught them in the act... if I extracted the memory that should work-" she trailed off as she saw the minister shaking her head.

"Memories have been found to be fabricated in the past, so the Ministry no longer accepts them as reasonable proof."

"So what can I do?"

"Nothing" the woman spoke with an air of finality. Hermione head dropped in an attempt to stop any tears leaving her eyes, and to prevent the other woman seeing her weak and vulnerable state. If Hermione Granger was famous for anything other than being the brains of the Golden Trio and the Brightest Witch her age it was that she was a strong independent woman who let nothing stand in her way. But that one word seemed to have stopped her dead in her tracks- if she couldn't get a divorce she had to stay as a family for her daughter's sake... even if it was miserable for herself.

"I'm sorry it can't be any other way, but I don't make the rules I just enforce them." The red head finally stated in a soft voice.

Hermione nodded her head before rising to her feet sucking in a deep breath she bade the Minister a good bye before exiting the offices on her trail back to her own office.

----------

Hermione finished her story looking down at the ground. "What are you going to do?" Draco asked.

She shrugged, "I can't do anything" she shook her head, "I need proof actual physical proof, not a memory, actual proof. How are you supposed to get physical proof of infidelity?" Hermione hung her head a sign of despair.

Elizabeth returned holding a vial of the colourless liquid, '_Calming Draught'_; quickly handing the corked bottle over to the blonde man she excused herself out of her boss' office back to her desk at the door.

Draco snapped the cork from the bottle and handed it over to Hermione who turned away from it, "Drink it" he insisted as he pushed it closer.

"I... I don't need it" she replied pushing his hand back towards his torso, attempting to swing her legs off the settee soon after, though she failed at the latter as Draco's body prevented the movement.

"You do need it, look" he grasped her smaller hand in his palm, "Your shaking" her hand was indeed shaking uncontrollably, "Please just drink it." He once again pushed the glass vial towards her, and she took it begrudgingly, before swigging on the substance grimacing slightly as it's after taste kicked in mid way down her throat.

When Hermione brought her attention back to that of Draco's it was to find him staring intently at a spot on the wall behind her, seemingly lost in concentration, "Do you wish to share?" Hermione asked softly.

Draco's eyes slowly reverted to lock onto hers but he didn't answer and continued to simply stare, causing Hermione to squirm under his gaze. Shifting her legs underneath her body she reached out her right hand to his cheek, placing it softly on the pale skin. He momentarily closed his eyes savouring the feel of her warm hand on his skin before he turned his head side ways to kiss her open palm. When he opened his eyes back to Hermione she was looking just as intently at him her mouth parted slightly, and her eyes somewhat wider than usual. Draco knelt more onto his knees bringing him to Hermione's eye level focusing her sight fully onto his before he began leaning forward, inch by inch until she could feel his breath against her mouth and him hers.

Tilting his head to the right he connected his lips silently to Hermione's, waiting for her response, and when he felt her arms pass his chest and encircle his neck- only then did he move again. Adding more pressure to the kiss, he waited for Hermione's next move and was not disappointed as he felt her nails scrape along his scalp as her fingers delved into his hair, tugging; ever so slightly, his head towards her more. As his left hand migrated towards her right cheek he allowed his tongue to leave his mouth swiping once, twice thrice along Hermione's lip before it was granted access into the hot cavern of her mouth.

They parted slightly and Draco rested his forehead against her his breathing ragged. His right thumb came up to her face running softly down the side of her jaw before moving to her lips running along the line that joined her two lips together before teetering to the right hand side and wiping away the smudged lipstick from her cheek. Likewise she attempted to wipe away the smudges from his lips failing as a light pink tinge could still be seen. So Draco lazily drew the back of his hand across to remove any of the evidence.

"I'm sure that wasn't the only reason you came to see me" Hermione broke the silence which had enveloped them, laughing lightly.

Draco simply shook his head, "No, funnily enough it wasn't." He suddenly became ever the more serious, standing up he began to pace, "This isn't easy for me to say..." he trailed slightly.

Hermione stood swaying slightly as she got to her feet, noting she had on no shoes,_ 'So it was Draco who gave me the foot massage' _she decided to file that away for another time, focusing on the blonde man pacing around her office.

"It's okay Draco, just tell me"

"I... That is to say he... I mean I have it from a respectable..." he was cut off as Elizabeth's voice sounded from outside.

"She's not feeling too good, you can't go in there"

"She's my wife of course I can go and see her" the office door opened to reveal the red head that had caused Hermione so much anguish.

* * *

**A/N: **Ladies and gentleman here is another chapter of Enough; I know long time no see, I have really struggled to find the time to write, for that I am sorry. This may be the last chapter til summer when I have a lot more time on my hands.

So I leave you til whenever with a cliffie- what will happen next?

Scorpio219 x.x.


	12. Chapter 12

_Previously:_

"_I... That is to say he... I mean I have it from a respectable..." he was cut off as Elizabeth's voice sounded from outside._

"_She's not feeling too good, you can't go in there"_

"_She's my wife of course I can go and see her" the office door opened to reveal the red head that had caused Hermione so much anguish._

Chapter 12

"What are you doing here Ferret?" Ron snarled as he stepped into the office.

"It's nice to see you to Weasley; your manners are disgraceful as always. But I was here to check on Hermione if you must know"

"I must she is my wife after all" Draco laughed.

"You have the audac-" he was cut off by Hermione's voice.

"Don't" she looked at Draco rather than her husband, as if telling him to not say anything about him knowing, Draco simply nodded.

"We were in the middle of a discussion when you so rudely waltzed in Weasley, so if you don't mind" Draco pointed towards the door.

"I don't think so Malfoy, I'm here to speak to my wife, and speak to her I shall" Ron stood his ground stamping his foot onto the floor.

When Draco made a step towards Ron, Hermione intervened. Although she seemed even smaller than usual with no shoes on stood between two men who were both almost six foot in height, she was still as formidable as ever before. She put her hands onto Ron's chest first, pushing him towards the sofa she had previously been sat on. Before spinning around towards Draco, who was closer than she realized meaning her still outstretched hand rested on his chest as she did a one-eighty.

Making sure Ron wasn't watching them Draco grasped her hand squeezing it ever so lightly, as a sign of strength. He would willingly sit in the room with Weaselbee if it meant he knew she was safe. She softly squeezed his hand back before reluctantly pulling it away.

"Malfoy, I'll speak to you later" she was uncertain he would comply as she saw a hint of his anger show through his calm mask, but he simply nodded stiffly once before going to pick his briefcase and overcoat from the side of the settee Ron was sat on, before marching out of the office.

Had anyone saw Draco Malfoy leaving the Ministry of Magic, they would have said he looked fine, calm and collected like always, only underneath the surface that Slytherin head of his was working overtime scheming for a plan that was above all others and would get him what he wanted.

Heels clicking on the floor of the manor Pansy Zabini walked eager to find out the latest gossips she knew were stirring in the underbelly of Wizarding Britain the biggest gossip since, well since the end of the War, and she was determined to be the person to enlighten the rest of the country.

When she opened the set of double oak doors to the office it was to find the place a wreck, the French, diamond encrusted chandelier smashed into millions of piece at the centre of the room, papers thrown about, pictures hanging; just about, by their hooks, on the walls. The prized family portrait smashed to the floor and nearest the fire a copy of the days _"The Prophet"_, having landed unceremoniously on the floor open at a picture of Weasley, Ronald Weasley that is and Hermione then Granger looking every bit the happy couple- with the headline, "The Ministry's Annual Banquet 2011."

Pansy wasn't sure exactly why the room was so much a tip but she had an inkling that it was to do with that picture. So picking up her pace slightly she navigated through the house and out to the Quidditch field at the rear, when she opened the door it was to find it empty.

Wandering back to the house she was concerned, _'Where could Draco be?' _he usually went to cool off in the Quidditch arena away from everyone else. But if he wasn't there, lord only knows where he was or what trouble he could be making for himself.

Re-entering the house she called for a house elf, "Hows can Mipsy be helping Miss?"

"Have you seen Draco?"

"Master Malfoy is in Lord Malfoy's study"

Without even thanking the elf Pansy moved off into the house, instead of going left to Draco's destroyed office she ventured right towards the eldest Malfoy's office. A roundabout trip to find the blonde man she wanted Pansy had finally located him as she pushed open the door.

Draco was pacing glass tumbler resting on the office desk, muttering to himself as he went along.

"He doesn't deserve her" Suddenly he grabbed the glass and threw it into the flames of the lit fire causing a gust of a flame to rise before settling back into the hearth.

Pansy's surprise gasp made Draco realise he was no longer the only occupant of the room.

"Pansy just the person I have been meaning to floo call, come in" Draco walked to the other side of the rather large, dark wood desk, sitting down on the leather chair there, before signalling Pansy to sit opposite.

"You'll know how to make my plan work... How shall I bring down Weasley?"

Pansy's eyes widened, never in her life especially after the final year at Hogwarts would she believe her old friend Draco Malfoy would finally want to bring down Hermione Weasley, the bushy haired witch had surely pissed him off badly to be "brought down" as he referred to it.

"Well Drake I have a file at home that may be useful" Pansy started a smirk gracing her features, "She is after all forever in the news, and I have always had a vested interest in the family and friends of Harry Potter."

Draco's brow creased, "I'm not sure you know who I'm talking about Pansy"

"Hermione..." Pansy's lips curled "Weasley"

Draco shook his head, "You know she never gets any hassle from either me or my family we have a lot to be thankful for, especially to her. Her husband however is free reign."

Pansy's mouth opened in understanding, "What has he done?"

"Granger... She's pregnant Pans" he suddenly blurted out.

Pansy's whole front cover story suddenly came crashing around her, "I... I thought..." she stood from the chair she had been sat in, running her hand through her short hair as a sign of nervousness. "She... And you... Didn't..." she closed her eyes willing the faint dizziness away. "I thought you said she and you hadn't shagged?"

Draco looked taken aback by Pansy's theatrics as she stood swaying ever so much.

"I did, and we haven't but that's not who I'm talking of Pans... I'm talking of the Ginger gits bimbo, tart on the side, his Mistress." Draco made air quotations at his final name for Lavender.

"Wow, this is big..." Pansy paused unsure if she should ask the next question or not, "Am I to print this?"

If Pansy was being truthful she thought the immediate answer would be a big emphatic no, but when a definite "Yes" left Draco's mouth she stood shocked.

"So what else do you need?"

"Information, every little scrap of information you have on the whole family... I'm going to bring that git down to earth thee most painful way possible." Draco's face contorted into his infamous sneer, as he poured himself a glass of fire-whiskey. Staring into the flames of the fire he said "His whole world will soon be crashing down around him."

"Draco what are you planning to do?" Pansy asked curiously.

"I'm going to hit him where it hurts" Draco downed the tipple left in his glass before turning to the dark haired girl, "Now about those files."

By the time Draco had gathered all of the necessary files from Pansy, the entire two dozen, he was ready to begin his plan. Even if it was nearly eleven o'clock at night, time flies when your scheming to bring someone down.

Stepping out of the hearth of Malfoy manor he was immediately stopped by Miffy the House Elf, who seemed slightly upset if the twisting of her hands were anything to go on.

"Miffy came to tell Master Draco, that Mrs Weasley is here to see him"

"Thank you Miffy" he looked at the pile of files he needed to take upstairs, "Miffy can you do me a favour?"

"Of course Master Draco" the Elf smiled slightly.

"Can you take these to my study? I'm sure by now Mother has sent one of you up to clean the mess I made" the Elf nodded before levitating the files to her height before she disappeared with a pop.

When he walked into the lounge which guests all usually congregated in, he realised at once why Miffy was upset. Hermione was upset; blotchy cheeks were the giveaway.

"Hermione" Draco greeted as he entered the room, she gave him a weak smile as a reply "I didn't think you were coming, it's late."

Hermione glanced up to the grandfather clock tucked away in the corner of the room, as if only now noticing the time she gasped, standing and collecting her things as she went. "I'm sorry I didn't realise the time."

Draco slowly walked over to her grasping her wrists as she frantically tried putting everything back into her overturned handbag. "What's wrong?" he whispered just in her ear.

"It fell over, and I-"

"Not that, what's wrong with you? Why are you here?"

Without answering she turned around, Draco allowing her to do so by letting go of her wrists, and dropped her face into his chest, where she proceeded to sob. His arms soon enveloped her as he slowly rubbed her back in circles as a sign of comfort.

This was the scene Pansy walked in on when she came to ask Draco some questions about her article, she could see the look on her friends face, and she had never seen it before. And it was then she made her decision- she would help him any way she could.

Once Hermione's sobs had quietened to the point of Draco thinking she was very close to falling asleep whilst stood, he gently removed her hair from around her face so he could see her, and said "Hermione, I have something to tell you."

He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news when she was in this state, but there was no time like the present, or so he had been told.

Hermione simply sniffed a few times wiping at her eyes before pulling herself away from his chest, missing his warmth instantly. "I don't think I'm up to talking at the moment, can you tell me in the morning?" he nodded. Draco hated seeing this strong capable woman brought to her knees by a low life cheating husband such as Ron Weasley, and it made the hate in his stomach intensify, to the point of an almost physical pain waiting to be unleashed.

"I know it's a bit rude of me to do this, especially on such short notice but, could I possibly stay here tonight? My house is lonely and I couldn't stand being there."

"You know my home is always open to you" he smiled wryly, "But what about Rose?"

"She's sleeping over at Ginny and Harry's"

Draco nodded, "Do you want the same room you had last time?" when she nodded an affirmative, Draco motioned towards the door, "Come on I'll take you up."

Once at the room, Draco stood at the door for a moment before walking in to the room and out of the door to the balcony, into the crisp night breeze.

"I really need to tell you something" he called back after a few minutes, "What if I told you, I know how you can get a divorce?" he tugged at the collar of his shirt, realising that despite the temperature outside he was considerably warm.

"I don't know how better to say this, but she's pregnant"

* * *

A/N: Ladies and gentleman, that is the long awaited Chapter 12- hopefully now that I'm off for summer I will be able to write a lot more, and get a few more chapters wrote and uploaded.

Thank you for staying with me... if you have... and hello to all, if there are any, new readers :)

Until my next update;

Scorpio219 -x-


	13. Revelation

Chapter 13: Revelation

"_I really need to tell you something" he called back after a few minutes, "What if I told you, I know how you can get a divorce?" he tugged at the collar of his shirt, realising that despite the temperature outside he was considerably warm._

"_I don't know how better to say this, but she's pregnant" _

_

* * *

_

... There was no answer, before a sudden crash had him sprinting into the room. Hermione nowhere in sight, he began his frantic search of the room, before finding her sat on the toilet seat in the bathroom, her arm elevated, as she held it over the sink. Blood drops dropping from her clutched palm periodically, avoiding the silk negligee she had changed into.

"Silly me," she said as she made a move to switch on the water to the basin, "Dropped the cup and tried picking it up by hand."

"Why didn't you use magic?"

"You know I don't like using magic for every little scrap of my life, but my mind wasn't on what I was doing."

He nodded as he entered the room, taking his wand out as he strode towards her, holding gently onto the appendage he tapped his wand on the palm muttering an incantation as he went. The result was the skin sowed back together, as if nothing had happened.

Muttering a small thank you Hermione stood from her seated place to busy herself with fixing the broken glass and pouring herself another drink of water. When she walked past Draco without saying another word he furrowed his brows before following.

"Are you alright?" she nodded, "Are you sure? I know it might have come as a bit of a shock"

"It was but my body coped, I'm really alright Draco" he glanced at her to see her eyes down cast.

"If you need someone to cry on the shoulder of, you know where I am" he said as he began walking to the door.

"Yes I do, and should I feel the need to cry I'll come to you Draco" she laughed lightly, and when she said nothing else he left the room.

'_That was very strange as if she hadn't heard me, maybe she's in denial' _he thought as he walked away.

'_Draco Malfoy is by far the strangest enigma I have ever come across' _Hermione thought as she switched off the light at the side of the bed, plunging the room into complete darkness.

* * *

Hermione woke to a cold breeze down the length of her back, sending a chill up her spine. Rolling over she realized during her restful night's sleep she had inadvertently thrown the covers off her body, and with the Wizarding world having never thought of the concept of central heating she was left to blindly find her wand to start the fire in the room.

Once the room had heated enough for to walk about without the chances of catching a chill, she stretched and got out of bed. After a brief shower and changing into a suit she found on the bed when she left the bathroom she ventured down stairs for food, hoping Draco had told his parents that she had once again spent the night.

When she entered the breakfast room she was surprised to find it empty except for Narcissa Malfoy.

The older woman acknowledged the younger woman with a smile, as she sipped her tea, with a copy of the days _'The Prophet' _neatly folded on the table at her right hand side.

"Morning Narcissa," Hermione greeted as she sat on the seat closest to Narcissa her back to the door.

After a half an hour talking whilst eating their breakfasts, Narcissa broached a subject that most women wouldn't have dreamed to bring up with their best friends let alone a woman they hardly knew. "So how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," the brunette answered "I've hit what you would call a dead end in my quest for a divorce, but I hope to get over it soon enough." She stirred her cereal around in her bowl, "It's just proving to be a hard task, that's all."

Narcissa furrowed her brows "I thought it would be simple, you have the proof now all you need to do is tell the Minister."

A silence soon washed over the pair, and Hermione curiously glanced sideways to the older woman, the look on her face made Hermione drop the spoon she was holding, the clinking of metal on porcelain harshly breaking the silence.

"What do you mean, I have the proof?"

Narcissa paled slightly realising she had just put her foot in it, as the Muggle saying goes, "I think you need to speak to Draco about that."

Hermione was up in a flash, the force of her standing knocking her chair to the floor with a loud echoing thud. But she was long out of the door before the sound reached her ears. Taking the stairs two at a time to reach Draco's office she was there in no time. She opened the door without knocking and found the blonde in question perched at his desk, parchment cluttered around him.

He glanced up through the curtain of hair which had dropped into his line of sight, to see who had disturbed his scheming, to see Hermione fuming. He immediately sat straighter in his seat, to look at her closely, through a clear line of vision.

He could instantly tell by her posture that she was fighting the tears that were threatening to fall, the small droplets pooling in the corner of her eyes, giving the rest of her eyes a glossy sheen. "What did your mother mean?" it was said just above a whisper not because she was upset, but because she was angry.

"What did she say?" Draco ventured.

"Proof Draco, she said I had proof. What proof?"

"I told you yesterday" when she furrowed her eyebrows he began to explain, "Last night, I told you... that well, you know about the p-r-e" every letter of the word caused Hermione's eyes to get bigger and bigger and Draco noticed. "Shit" he swore before finishing his sentence, he knew that she didn't know, and he found it hard enough to tell her once he couldn't do it again he thought the reaction the previous night was a good sign, he couldn't deal with- well what he was about to go through.

He stood from his desk round to the other side to be stood directly in front of her, and when he grabbed her hands she withdrew them like a whipper-snapper, as if burnt.

"Pre- Pregnant?" she stuttered.

* * *

**A/N: **Right theres chapter 13, I know its short but I wanted to get another chapter up, and this seemed the most logical place for me to cut-off where I'd wrote upto at the moment.

I hope you enjoy it and the story so far, please leave a review, and if you put it onto your alerts/favourites, please also leave a review :)

Finally I'll advertise my other stories, my favourite of which are:

_**How Do I Say?**: Based on Draco proving his love for Hermione, AND  
_

_**Lovers Embrace.**_

_Until next time; Scorpio219 -x-**  
**_


	14. Explanations and Understandings

Chapter 14: Explanations… and Understandings

"I-" he swallowed the lump which had formed in his throat, "I thought I had told you last night?"

She snivelled, "Does it look like you had told me?" she paused and looked at him seeing his face fall ever so slightly. "How could you think that would be my reaction to a thing like that?" she shook her head turning towards the fireplace.

"I... It just seemed as if you had coped," He ran his hand through his hair, realising she must have been in the bathroom when he told her, and it was a coincident that she had dropped something. "I didn't want to have to tell you, I wanted the coward to do so himself, the honourable thing for once in his life. But oh no, Weasel couldn't do that could he?" Draco sneered.

"He wouldn't even tell me he was having an affair... what part of that thick brain of yours assumed he'd therefore tell me that he knocked the woman up?" Draco knew she was lashing out at the only thing she could- him. But he felt slightly hurt by her words, and his next actions dictated that.

He stood to his full height stalking over to where she stood, "You asked and asked whether he was having an affair, and yet every single time he said he wasn't, and so you took his word for it. I would have thought someone as smart as you always were back in school would have twigged something was wrong. Did he never come home smelling of some other woman's cheap perfume? Did he never put off having sex with you? Did he ever come back late? Say he'd been working? Did you never find a letter, or another indication of his infidelity? Don't you ever say I assumed too much, you're the person he had been doing it under the nose of for many years, before I even came into the picture! I thought Gryffindor's were the honourable ones?" he ranted. Breathing heavily through his nose he turned away from the brunette, leaning his weight onto his forearms palms against the corner of the desk.

A quiet sob had him turning back around to face Hermione who had slumped to the floor. "It's all, my fault" she muttered to herself.

"Don't say that-"

"You said it yourself Malfoy, I missed the clear signs, yes he did come home smelling of that cheap perfume, yes he did come back late... and yes if you must know our sex life has been down the pan since way before we got married." A sob escaped her throat, "The last time we had sex, was... was the night Rose was conceived."

Draco's eyes widened, he hadn't expected her to make that much of a confession to him, and he felt even guiltier, for in a way forcing it out of her.

"Listen..." he started slowly, and softly. "He really doesn't deserve you." She gave a snort, "I mean it, your attractive, and intelligent, Merlin, any man would kill to have you by his side." '_Writhing underneath him'_ "To run his hands through those curls as he kissed your plump lips into submission, to hold those womanly hips-" he cut himself off before he finished, standing in front of Hermione he bent down to lift her from the ground.

When he pulled her to her full height she tilted her head so that she was looking into his steel grey irises from her shortened height, after a few holding of breath minutes, she carefully lifted her hand to his cheek, but on the contact he turned his head away from her- taking it as a rebuff she lowered her hand.

"But who would want me? I'm as plain as they come. What can I offer someone that someone younger couldn't?" She stated finally. When he snapped his attention back to her, she turned away, looking out of the window in his office. "Who would want me?" she finally said.

"I would" was Draco's immediate reaction, "Who wouldn't?" he countered. Hermione gave an undignified snort, before Draco continued, "I'd take you upstairs, right about now, and ravish you if I didn't think you'd do something to me." A small smile appeared on Hermione's face.

"As tempting as that sounds I should really go and check on Rose" her smile grew as she glanced back at Draco.

"Good point, I'm not exactly a three minute man, I like to put in a very satisfactory performance" his eyes lit up with a hint of mischief. "May be I'll show you some time" he purred, leaning over to whisper into the shell of her ear.

'_Is Draco Malfoy flirting with me?'_ Hermione thought as she eyed him curiously, seeing that hint of mischief in his eyes, she couldn't control the words as they came out of her mouth.

Licking her lips, before she gently bit on her lip pulling it through her teeth she spoke "Perhaps that can be arranged" a finger ran across the width of his shirt covered chest.

He growled low in his chest, as he took as step towards her catching her finger as it retreated, he brought it slowly to his mouth watching her for her reaction all the way, as he licked the tip of her finger before kissing each of the digits knuckles.

A shiver of electricity jolted through both of them, as they gazed at one another, gaining control of her senses, Hermione slowly almost reluctantly pulled her hand away from Draco's grasp, eying him curiously as she did so.

He simply smirked at her, he was glad she was seemingly no longer upset about finding out the truth, and he was beginning to suspect she may well have heard him last night on some sort of level but was either in denial or she thought she had misheard.

"I really do, need to go and pick Rose up, she needs everything explaining to her, and I need to get in touch with the Minister for Marriages as soon as possible to sort everything out." To Draco she seemed as if she had more to say but just stood there, not wanting to go.

"I'm sorry that this has happened, the way it has" he offered her a toned down smirk, a kind of sad smile, but not quite reaching that potential. "If you need anything, you know how to get in touch with me."

She nodded her head forlornly, "So do I" she smiled a half smile, "May be it was better that it happened, I..." she furrowed her eyebrows, "The last few days have been stressful to say the least, so thank you for being here for me." She reached her hand up to his cheek, carefully running a thumb along the jaw line of his left cheek before she stood onto her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his right cheek.

When she pulled away there was a stray emotion showing through her chocolate orbs, he was tempted to capture her lips in another kiss, but knew he would be unable to hold himself back, he'd had too many tempting tastes, now he need to devour her, to sedate himself- and that wouldn't do unless she came to him first. She was after all still married, as much as that gnawed somewhere in his head to get with her anyway, he respected the vows of marriage, even if they weren't his.

Not to mention, Draco Malfoy had waited too long for the Ginger git to mess up, and he didn't want to ruin any of his chances.

"You should go" he whispered, "Rose will want her mum" he smirked when he saw her eyes close slowly before she opened them to look him squarely in the eye. He simply stood stalk still, waiting to see if she found what she was looking for, even though he shut down the barriers to his emotions.

Having satisfied her curiosity, Hermione nodded her head before walking to the exit, glancing back to the blond she said "Thanks again Draco" before she vacated the room, and Draco let out the breath he had been holding in.

He knew he was inches away from claiming her, and that niggled at him. Their relationship was moving too fast, he needed to slow it down, before he did something rash.

* * *

**A/N: Well there it is Chapter 14, I know it's short but I thought I'd update and let you guys know how everything is going. I have decided to finish this story, before I upload the next chapter, so that I have clear cut finish.**

**I hope that you will stay with me, while I get this done, and thank you for all the support you have given me throughout this story. I enjoy reading your thoughts, and look forward to reading more of them. Please let me know what you think. And should you have the time, try my other stories that are on here.**

**Thank you again;**

**Scopio219 -x-  
**


	15. Designs

Chapter 15: Designs

-Wednesday 27th April-

-Mid-afternoon-

Catching a glimpse of a copy of _Witch Weekly_ lying on the dining room table, Draco suddenly remembered Pansy and the task he had set her to do, quickly picking up the glossy magazine, he ventured back towards his office- having been in need of a stretch of his legs.

Leaning back in the high-backed chair he opened the magazine and flicked through the pages until he rested on the double page spread at the centre that Pansy always wrote. Skimming across the page his eyes sought the undoubted words that would be splashed across the page, but when he realised there was not one mention of either the name Hermione, or Weasley, he furrowed his eyebrows. Folding the magazine so he could read the front he checked to see if it was the right date and when he noted it was indeed right the furrow became even more pronounced, and he quickly flicked through the pages looking for a stand out headline but none appeared.

So lost in thought about the article that seemed missing he didn't even realise that when a shallow knock hit the wooden door he had called his guest in. Only when he lifted his eyes catching movement in the top of his vision did he realise someone had entered. He was even more surprised that it was his mother.

"Is everything alright Mother?" he questioned noting she was slightly paler than usual, he stood and was by her side in seconds watching intently as she made her way across the room to the seat opposite his desk, having buffet his hand away from helping her.

"I'm fine Son," she replied as she lowered her suddenly fragile frame into the seat, "Things are just catching up with me it seems" she placed the folder she held in her hands onto the top of his desk. "I have some new designs I thought you might want to take a look at, tell me what you think.

"Is this a side-effect of the potions I've been getting you from _Saint Mungo's_?" he questioned, ignoring the folder she had put on his desk.

She shook her dainty hand as he checked her temperature with the back of his hand. "I said I'm fine Draco, just a little flustered, a lot has been going on recently, and well you know the Annual Ministry Ball is this weekend, and I'm on the planning committee, it's been a hectic week."

Draco could tell from her tone, that he should end his questioning, and succumbed to her wishes as he sat again in his desk chair. "So what can I do for you?" he tactically changed the subject.

Narcissa slowly opened her portfolio, "I've designed these new kits, I was hoping you would take a look and see what you thought."

Draco glanced at the parchments in front of him, noting no smudges on the parchment he looked up to his mother "How long have you been sketching these?"

"The past day" she looked curiously at him, "Why?"

He bit the inside of his mouth as he scanned the parchments, "There not the usual rush with smudges that occurs" he noted, before he realised the slight tremor that was often in her hands was absent. "The potions working isn't it" it sounded much like a question but was clearly a statement.

She nodded, "I went to the hospital yesterday, and my prescription was changed" she stated shaking her hand at the end of the sentence. "What do you think of the designs?" she queried eying the parchment her son held.

Draco continued to stare at his mother for a few moments, before nodding his head, training his eyes back to the parchment. "Well..." he started carefully examining the sketch, "You know I like to see a prototype before I make a judgement call, but it looks good, is it a form fitting one?" he queried, strictly down to business.

Glad that he was back on a safe topic, Narcissa brought her cobalt blue eyes to her son's steel grey, nodding her head she straightened up where she sat, "Yes, I was thinking it may enhance the flight? Especially under harsher conditions, and would be a protective and insulation for other conditions?"

He nodded understanding her logic, "Well I'm heading to Pansy's soon, when we're finished here, if you want to accompany me, and show these to Pansy, see if she can help?" Narcissa gave a quick nod, as she slowly stood from the chair and gracefully plucked the parchments out of his hands, before gliding to the door.

"I'll meet you downstairs in five minutes," he called before his office door was shut. Grabbing a few stacks of parchment off of his desk he sorted them into his brief case, before leaving his office, grabbing his overcoat on his way out.

Once downstairs he found his mother at the bottom of the stairs her hair pristine, holding the portfolio in hand, and her usual green coat wrapped around her body. Quickly donning his overcoat he walked over to his Mother before they exited the Manor together walking down the path before passing the wards and singularly appariting to _Charing Cross Road_, London, and outside the _Leaky Cauldron_.

Walking into the old pub, the Malfoy pair immediately garnered the attentions of most of the occupants who eyed them curiously, as well as the landlady; Hannah Longbottom née Abbott, who simply offered the pair a small smile as they walked through to the back door and the courtyard with the gateway to _Diagon Alley_.

-Diagon Alley-

Since the end of the war _Diagon Alley_ had be refurbished to its original glory, housing as many shops as its heyday, the main shopping complex of Wizarding London housed up and coming brands, as well as established shops. One such one is Pansy's Robes. After Madam Tatting retired- not long after the war- the shop, _Twilfitt and Tatting's_ became a ghost shop. Blaise Zabini's mother later bought it in order to sell her designs, and soon passed it to Pansy, who had a knack for fitting spells and general designs of clothing. The shop was renamed "Pansy's Robes." Though the name wouldn't mean much in Muggle world terms, Pansy's Robes' outfits were highly sought after in the Wizarding World. This shop specialised in the more formal clothing attire. A cash injection from _Malfoy's and Son _saw another store open up in the old _Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions_ shop, helped run by Narcissa Malfoy. The shop sold more of the general dresses, school robes and Quidditch supplies, but only _Malfoy's and Son_ equipment.

With it being late April Pansy herself would be in _Pansy's Robe_ design many of the gowns for all those planning to go to the Annual Ministry Ball. Making their way down one of the side streets of Diagon Alley, the Malfoy's soon came face to face with the shop in question. Opening the door for his Mother to walk ahead of him the pair entered, both searching the shop for the owner.

"Mrs Malfoy, Mr Malfoy, welcome" the woman at the desk stuttered when she realised who had entered the shop.

"Close your mouth Rosemary, it really is an unattractive thing when you stand there with your mouth open like that." Pansy chastised as she walked into the main room from the back, shoving a piece of hair behind her hair as she came through. The aforementioned Rosemary quickly snapped her chops shut, before busying herself with papers on the desk. "Rosemary, Mrs Morganstat, is looking for some material to match her dress for a shawl, go help her." The young girl nodded her head and ran off into the backroom Pansy had previously entered from. "Now Narcissa, Draco how may I help you today? Business or pleasure?"

"Business" Draco answered immediately, but his tone caused Pansy to raise a slight brow at him. "My mother wishes to discuss designs with you, and I wish to discuss other business with you." Pansy simply nodded when she realised what he wanted to speak about, for once in his life Draco wasn't hiding away his emotions, they were lay out for Pansy to see, before he locked them away. "I'll leave you two to talk about designs I won't interrupt," with that he began walking away.

-20 minutes later-

Twenty minutes later while Draco was sat down waiting for his mother and Pansy to finish he spotted something that caught his eye on one of the racks the other side of the room to wear he was sat. Rosemary, who he had been watching intently interact with Mrs Morganstat, was beginning to feel nervous under his watchful eye and her mannerism began to show this and she jumped when he got up and walked over to near where she was stood.

Sieving through the racks Draco stopped at the one thing that managed to catch his eye. "Rosemary?" the girl in question looked up at the Malfoy heir, "Sorry Mrs Morganstat, may I just borrow Rosemary" the aging woman simply smiled nodding her head as she pulled out an ivory coloured piece of material.

"Yes Mr Malfoy?" Rosemary nervously glanced between Draco and the rack he was examining.

"Is this one of Pansy's original designs?" he pulled out an emerald coloured dress.

"Yes Mr Malfoy, it's the only one of its kind, Pansy made it just the other day."

Could you do me a favour Rosemary" the young Malfoy asked looking her figure up and down.

"Yes Mr Malfoy"

"Could you try it on?" apart from furrowing her eyebrows the young girl nodded, taking the dress out of Draco's hand and heading to the changing area to change.

When the girl walked back out wearing the dress, Draco gave a contemplating look, at how the dress hung before making his decision. "That'll do Rosemary you can get back into your own clothes."

After Rosemary placed the dress in Draco's outstretched hand, Pansy appeared; "Rosemary, could you till up Mrs Morganstat's items please" the girl nodded, and as she walked away Pansy spoke again to her "Oh and Rosemary, Mrs Malfoy has some designs she would like a prototype for, perhaps this would be a good time for you to practice, making the design come off of the parchment?" The young girl's eyes lit up at the chance Pansy was giving her. Once the girl was out of sight Pansy turned to the blond who was busy looking at the green dress. "Green is definitely your colour Drake, but a dress?" she began laughing but when Draco turned his eyes towards her she stopped. Swallowing audibly she said, "So what can I do for you?"

In this kind of situation she preferred to allow Draco to say what was on his mind instead of acting as if she knew. Because more often than not she was completely and utterly wrong.

"The article?" he queried, "I couldn't find it." He looked expectantly at Pansy.

She rubbed the back of her neck, "About that..." she paused, "I wrote it but, I didn't print it"

Draco narrowed his eyes, "And why not? It's not like you to pass up this kind of opportunity."

"I saw it Drake..." his eyes narrowed even more, "You looked content, happy, with her in your arms, I knew my article would hinder your relationship"

"We don't have a relationship Pans. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"You may not but you want to... I can see it in your eyes, the way you talk about her, the way you are pushing everything to the side to aid her. And my article wouldn't have aided her, it would have just put more pressure, more media attention onto her, and she doesn't want nor need that at the moment, she wants someone to be there for her." Pansy slowed her monologue, "You want to be that person, but if I had published the story she would have known you had said something to me, she's too smart to not connect us in it, no matter what we said, and then she wouldn't trust you. She trusts you at the moment don't let anything come between that."

Draco carefully put the dress he was still holding back into the racks; "Pansy? When did you see us together?"

Her eyes searched the floor before she finally brought them back to his, "I came by last night to ask you a few questions about the article and saw the pair of you, I didn't want to disturb so I left." She paused for a few minutes before she focused on Draco again, "I understand she stayed the night again?"

Draco's cool stone grey eyes slid over to her brown orbs, "And, how would you find out this?"

"You're not denying it?" she queried a slight furrowing of her eyebrows.

"Why would I? Yes she stayed the night, nothing happened. But that doesn't tell me how you know; I know my mother wouldn't have said anything, so exactly how do you know Pans?"

Examining her nails Pansy calmly said, "I overheard her talking earlier..."

-Hermione-

-Wednesday: Noon-

"Gin, why have you dragged me away from my office? I'm already behind as it is."

Ginny raised a brow at the curly haired brunette, "Knowing you you're probably already weeks ahead with your work. And we need to find you a dress for the Ministry ball this weekend"

"Why here though?" Hermione whined as they stopped outside Pansy's Robes.

"We both know she is the best, and we want the best don't we? So hush and get inside" Ginny replied giving Hermione a slight push towards the door.

"Mrs Weasley, Mrs Potter" the brunette behind the counter smiled brightly at the two new customers, and only continued when the pair each returned her smile "Are you looking for anything in particular this afternoon?"

"Were looking for dresses for the Annual Ministry Ball" Ginny replied, while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Ginny I have a fair few dresses at home that would all be suitable for the occasion."

Ginny shook her head as the assistant led them into the back with a quick "Follow me."

"Yes you say this every year, and my reply every year is people have already seen them, you need something new, exciting, and that will get the media especially the fashion media talking."

"I've got some"

"Yes I did notice your wardrobe seemed to have acquired a fair few new dresses, where exactly did they come from?" Ginny was ever so inquisitive.

"Gin, can we not talk about it?"

"They were from him weren't they? Is that where you spent the night again last night?"Ginny fired off the questions, as she flicked through the racks looking for something for the Ball.

Hermione looked towards the ground, "Yes and yes, how do you think I learnt about..." she trailed as she leant into Ginny's ear, whispering, "The pregnancy?"

Ginny seemed to ignore some of Hermione's speech, "So you spent last night there again, anything happen?"

Hermione's mouth opened in surprise, "Ginny I'm married... to your brother no less!"

Ginny flapped her hand about, "Soon to be divorced, and in a way I'm glad, it's pretty obvious that things weren't going too well for you and Ron. And well Draco Malfoy, he is very attractive, are you sure nothing has happened between the two of you?" Ginny fished three different dresses out of the rack, each of different colours and passed them over to Hermione.

Hermione thought back to the kisses her and Draco had shared, but didn't want to divulge that information to Ginny, "No nothing has happened between the two of us"

"So nothing has happened between the two of you? You've just spent the night at his house how many times now?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at the red head, "Can we change subject? How are my three favourite miniature Potters?"

"Fine, we'll change the subject, you go try those on. As for the kids their all fine and dandy Lily and James can't wait for their first year at _Hogwarts _to start." Ginny answered as Hermione walked into the changing room section and behind one of the curtains.

The pair continued to chat as Hermione tried each of the dresses on, and when it came to the final dress an emerald green coloured one, Ginny was shocked to see how well it fit Hermione- it looked as if it had been made for the brunette.

"I bet Draco would love you in that, Slytherin green, and fitted in all the right places" Ginny noted as Hermione looked into the mirror outside the changing room.

"Gin, I already said there's nothing going on between us"

"Yes well I for one know that he finds you attractive, I've heard him say so" she held up a finger as Hermione tried interrupting, "And he's allowed you to stay over at his house, I didn't think you were on such friendly terms with the man. There's something going on between the pair of you- but I won't nag if you don't want to tell your nearest and dearest friend the details."

Hermione gave a tight lipped smile, "Thank you for that, to be honest I'm not sure what's going on with him at the moment, it's like walking on egg shells"

"So there is some form of sexual charge between the two of you?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure what it is, he's just there for me and I really appreciate it, but I think something has changed between the myself and Malfoy, in fact I think it happened last night."

At that moment Pansy appeared out of nowhere, "Do you ladies need any help?"

The former Gryffindors exchanged a look, sending a silent message to stop what they'd been talking about, and Ginny diverted to another topic, "How much is this emerald dress?"

"That one? That's two-hundred galleons"

Hermione's eyes widened, "Gin I can't afford that!"

"The others are between forty and one-hundred galleons, that emerald one is a limited edition one, I've only made one."

Hermione contemplated splashing a bit but her brain couldn't allow her to so she opted to buy the second dress she had tried on a purple strapless one. After buying their purchases Ginny having bought one without trying it on the pair left _Pansy's Robes_ in search of something for lunch.

_-Draco-_

"... And she said that she'd been at yours last night and spent the night" Draco nodded his head as he took all of Pansy's story in, but Pansy interrupted his thought process, "It's interesting that you should pick out that particular dress, because that is the one she tried on earlier, and I've got to admit she looked radiant in it, as if it was made for her" she signalled to the dress he had replaced back into the racks.

Draco nodded as he looked to Pansy once more, "Thank you Pans" he said, for what he wasn't a hundred percentage sure but she seemed to know because she smiled a few cogs working in her head, she signalled to the dress in silent question and he nodded, "You read my mind" he leant over to give the raven haired girl a parting kiss on each cheek, before he finally said, "Tell that husband of yours I have some plotting to do and I was wondering if he would help me do so, and to Owl me his reply." He gave one final wink in Pansy's direction before walking to the front of the store where his mother was calmly waiting.

The two Malfoy's soon disappeared into the throes of shoppers, each with a self satisfied smirk on their faces.

* * *

**A/N: Right that is Chapter 15 done and dusted, I made it longer than some of the others because, well you deserve a longer chapter update for being so loyal to me. I did previously mention that no new chapters would go up before I'd completely finished the whole story but well that hasn't happened so please do bare with me. I've recently got a job and well, blah blah blah, I get very tired and hardly time for writing. I thank you again for getting thus far, and to all those that have previously review thanks. **

**Please do leave a review they make all the difference. :)**

**An important question, in the next chapter do you want: A.) Hermione/ Draco to each look at their feelings? Or B.) Draco's plan of action?  
**

**Scorpio219 -x-  
**


	16. Slytherin's Know How To Do It Best

Chapter 16: Slytherin's Know How To Do It Best

_Draco nodded as he looked to Pansy once more, "Thank you Pans" he said, for what he wasn't a hundred percentage sure but she seemed to know because she smiled a few cogs working in her head, she signalled to the dress in silent question and he nodded, "You read my mind" he leant over to give the raven haired girl a parting kiss on each cheek, before he finally said, "Tell that husband of yours I have some plotting to do and I was wondering if he would help me do so, and to Owl me his reply." He gave one final wink in Pansy's direction before walking to the front of the store where his mother was calmly waiting._

_The two Malfoy's soon disappeared into the throes of shoppers, each with a self satisfied smirk on their faces._

-Thursday 28th April-

-Draco-

A persistent tapping on his bedroom window had Draco, slowly opening his blurry eyes and throwing off his comfy duvet cover, to be met with a chilled early morning air. Padding across the expanse of his room he opened the bedroom balcony doors, in order to receive the owl that had been tapping. The owl flew across the room to the foot of his bed shaking off the mist that had congregated on its back before holding out its leg for Draco to take the envelope attached to it.

Clutching the envelope in his hand Draco assessed the hand writing on the front, noticing the slightly thicker penmanship he recognised it as his best friend Blaise Zabini's. So ripping into it to get the parchment safely tucked under the lip of the envelope he proceeded to read the note:

**Drake,**

**Sorry this may be getting to you at such an early hour, but knowing you, you were half way to getting up for an early morning broom flight. Pansy said you wanted to see me, and seen as though I've just got back from Italy after a delay I'll be free this evening? I need to spend some time with the Famiglia first but then I'm all ears for you, over drinks.**

**Send your reply back with Alfonso.**

**Blaise **

Writing a quick reply to the Italian, Draco attached it to the Owl before it flew back out into the morning air, which had thoroughly woken the blond up, making Draco realise that he needed to get ready for a day's work, or a day's scheming.

After making use of the first two hours of the day by practicing broom handling, and a swim in the manor's pool, Draco went in search of the one man he knew who had a wicked mind that could match his own, who would be able to make his plan work, and find any possible flaws in it.

His Father: Lucius Malfoy

Collecting a handful of papers off of his own desk, Draco strode across the expanse of the corridor to the other end. Knocking on the oak door with the name: _L. Malfoy _engraved on a golden plate, he waited to be allowed entry.

Upon entry the younger blond confidently walked into the room; "Father?"

Lucius Malfoy a man of receding hairline who still managed to ooze masculinity and power looked up from the parchment he was reading. "Yes son?"

Draco took a step forward, "Father I was wondering if you help me with something?" he suddenly felt very intimidated by his father as he stood up from his chair curiously eying his son- even though Draco was the taller of the two.

Raising his eyebrow his father replied; "And what do you need help with? Business? Or personal?"

Lucius always had a knack for getting right down to the point of a conversation cutting out all the unimportant details.

"Both" Draco answered walking into the room further as Lucius gestured to the seat opposite him.

"Does this have something to do with Mrs Weasley?" the elder Malfoy asked his lip curling with disgust.

"Yes" Draco answered his eyes not wavering from his father's identical silver irises.

"No" Lucius replied sitting back into his seat.

"You've not even heard my proposal!" Draco's voice rose, as his nostrils flared.

"I don't need to" his father insisted, "If it gives you any leeway with Mrs Weasley, I want nothing to do with it, because that would mean I would be supporting it- and I don't not for one second."

"What if I asked you as my Father? Nothing to do with business, just for me?" Draco leaned on his arms as he gripped the edge of his father's desk. "You used to say family obligation was everything, or it was thirteen years ago- so has that changed?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his only child, "Let me ask you this: Is this just a quick passing conquest? Bed a member of the Golden Trio and then carry on as before?"

Quirking his eyebrows his line of sight unwavering from the elder Malfoy, Draco answered honestly: "That depends on what she wants"

"We both know Malfoy's wants are quite often at the forefront of their minds Draco, so choose."

"What does it matter? You either help or you don't"

"I want to do what is best for this family... so choose"

Draco sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "I want to pursue her."

Lucius nodded his head brusquely once before again leaning back into his chair, gesturing for Draco to sit. "I can't say I'm happy about this, but I can see how this may help the family. Now what was your plan Son?"

"I was thinking the Chudley Cannons might be a great investment, Lord Ardenbrook is looking for an heir to the Chudley Cannons and Puddlemere teams, but they won't come without a price." His father nodded so Draco continued with his proposals, "Also, having read over the figures for Weasley Wizard Wheezes, an investment could bring in extra profit for the company at large..." he was cut off as his father spoke.

"I'm aware of the financials concerning the Weasley shop, but that's nothing to do with Quidditch Draco."

"I know Father, that's why I came to you; I want to invest in other areas of the market under the Malfoy and Son name, an expansion of sorts. I can finance a bid for Lord Ardenbrook's fortune, but I can't also finance the rest of my ideas, not without some help." Draco leant forward in his chair, "I just need help to bid for Weasley Wizard Wheezes"

Lucius narrowed his silver irises for a second, his eye brow rising ever so slightly, "Whatever money you can raise for your ventures, I will match, however I suggest a little more tact in your approach of the price of the shares for some will rocket with our interest. It's time you put your Slytherin brain to work Draco."

-DM-

By the time the younger Malfoy had left his Father's study his infamous smirk, which seemed even more calculating that ever, was plastered on his features:

His plan was set into motion any and all lose ends would soon fall into place and HE Draco Malfoy would finally get what he had wanted for thirteen years. Nothing could go wrong, could it?

-DM-

Later that same night, the floo network of Malfoy lit up and out stepped a dark skinned man who seemed camouflaged by the lack of light in the room. His charcoal eyes swept round the room until they settled on the lone figure lounging leisurely into one of the chairs of the room, a tumbler of amber liquid reflecting the minimal light from the fire back into the room.

"Want one?" the outlined figure queried.

"On the rocks, if you don't mind Drake" snapping his fingers a house elf appeared only to disappear as soon as his master had given him a few words. "So is this business?" the dark skinned man finally asked once the elf had disappeared.

"Yes" Draco carefully rose from the seat and walked over to the door, "How about we take this to my study, and then I can explain everything to you."

-DM-

Draco walked to the far side of his desk, while the darker skinned man lowered his towering frame into the plush leather seat opposite, a smirk gracing his features.

"So how was she?" he queried eying his former Slytherin classmate, "Rumour has it she's quite insatiable" the blonde arched a curious eyebrow, confused with the conversation subject. "They say bookworms are the dormant sex goddess types, complete animals in the bed chamber" Draco's lip curled into a snarl at the black haired man, as a growl erupted from deep in his throat. It looked like he was a cobra ready to strike coiled and just waiting and that at any minute he'd leap the table towards his prey. But he bit back his animal instincts and turned his smouldering irises towards his compadree.

"We didn't"

The man barked out a laugh, "What? Don't tell me she's a prude..."

"Blaise"

"So after thirteen years, Weasley couldn't even bring it out..."

"Blaise" the blonde's tone was low and rumbling, an underlining threat somewhere just inside, "Don't. I told Pansy. So just don't."

"Told Pansy what?"

"That there's nothing going on between me and He- Granger!" Draco paused as the house elf popped into his study with a chilled bottle of firewhiskey, before being gone again in a blink of an eye. "Don't give me that look. I know what you're thinking, and yes events could turn to my favour, I just need your help. Any interest from a Malfoy affiliated company could lead to nil for me, especially from the Weasley's."

"So what do you want?"

Draco smirked, "I want you to be a go between for my money to find a majority stake in the Weasley's greatest assets. _Scorpion Limited_, will be the company at the front of the move, but I can't have it backed solely by my funds, or have any obvious connections to me, so I need you to raise some money, I'm asking everyone I can think of to help, a few funds from different sources will make enough people think it's a consortium that's interested. We both know that _Zabini Enterprises_ wouldn't be an odd sort to add to the mix with it being a financial backer and all."

Blaise tapped his chin with his fingers, "But what would I get out of this?" Slytherin to the bone, the Italian was all about how anything would affect him; a smart move some would say.

Draco steepled his fingers in thought, eying his best friend, before coming to a decision, pointing his right index finger at his friends he said; "Apart from helping your dear friend of thirty something years, and business partner for ten years or so of those years. You can finally get one over on Weasel git."

Blaise seemed to consider it, before finally nodding his head, "Okay, I agree. But you have to tell me everything. I know how you feel about Granger so is this the only reason behind it?"

"Weasley is a prat, a complete and utter moron. He sank to an all time low the day he decided his wedding vows meant nothing over getting his kicks with a two galleon whore, and then knocking her up." Draco spat his lip curling into a sneer.

"He had an affair?"

Draco nodded, his temper rising, "He needs to learn a lesson, and fast. He needs to know actions have consequences, and if you don't appreciate what you've got it'll go to the highest bidder!"

-DM-

Draco and Blaise continued talking, for a few more hours, veering the topic away from Draco's obvious fury, and to safer topics and issues.

One thing was for certain, even though Draco's revenge plan wasn't in motion yet- let's just say: Slytherin's know how to do it best!

* * *

**A/N: Finally managed to get chapter 16 up, and I hope you enjoyed it guys, any feedback is much appreciated. The next chapter will probably Hermione's thoughts, we hear a lot about Draco but what about the other half of the equation?  
**

**Til next time;**

**Scorpio219 -x-**


	17. Never Underestimate a Malfoy!

_Previously: __Draco and Blaise continued talking, for a few more hours, veering the topic away from Draco's obvious fury, and to safer topics and issues. _

_One thing was for certain, even though Draco's revenge plan wasn't in motion yet- let's just say: Slytherin's know how to do it best!_

Chapter 17: Never Underestimate A Malfoy!

-Friday 29th April-

-Draco-

Draco awoke with a slight spring in his step, today his ultimate revenge plan, in honour of Granger was to be set in motion; he had everything to be happy for, for soon he would be the crucial victor over his arch-rival, the red headed twit.

He would take the ground the twit so haughtily walked on from underneath him, and show him exactly who he was messing with, all the while waiting for the perfect moment to seize what he, Draco himself had been waiting for, the prize in this duel.

Whoever said the battle was over?

It was all like a game of chess; Draco was just waiting to move in for the final check-mate, the red head had already made a few crucial mistakes. And they said he was the best at chess, he clearly had never played a Malfoy. It was like playing with fire, you always get burned.

After a quick shower, the blond exited his en-suite bathroom to find a copy of the _Daily Prophet _lying across his bedspread, curious as to why it was lay on his bed instead of his office, or the dining room table he walked over to it.

On top a small piece of folded parchment was perched, fingering the parchment he noticed his name scribbled in a rather rushed handwriting, that he could still tell had a femine touch. Flicking it open he read the rather short note;

"D,

Open to page 3 you're not going to like what you see. I'll be back around eleven to see what you want to do about it.

P x"

Thumbing the black and white paper to page three, he scanned looking for the article that he wasn't going to like and low and behold he found it within milliseconds, taking up half the page was a clearly adapted photo of himself and Hermione trapped in what looked to be a lust filled, make out session, outside Malfoy Manor. The picture was made so you could see neither face of the participants; the only distinguishable characteristics were her curly mane, and his blond locks. The back of his head, and body blocked their faces, and what they were doing from view. But it did show his face lean down towards hers.

Draco could feel his anger bubbling, thick and fast to the surface. Someone was going to feel the infamous Malfoy wrath. Reading the headline his anger doubled;

"War Heroine Caught with Death Eater" the sub headline was just as bad

"The truth behind why Hermione Granger saved Draco Malfoy from the Dementors kiss"

Scanning the article words jumped out at him- heating his anger, but what really set him off causing him to throw the paper across the room, was the picture of Hermione being hassled as she went to work, a caption of "Non-commital response from Mrs Weasley" underneath.

He needed to see her, check that she was alright, this had complicated things even more, not to mention the article had no author, no one had claimed this as theirs, he had to speak to Pansy, she'd be able to trace or at least find out who had wrote the article, and then he could deal with them. But he still had his meeting with Lord Ardenbrook to attend as well.

So much for the quiet day he was originally going to have.

-DM-

Once he was dressed in a crisp suit, his hair flattened to his head, Draco made his way downstairs for something to eat before his meeting with Lord Ardenbrook.

Once finished he apparated from the apparition spot to the home of Britain's most famous Quidditch team owner; Lord Ardenbrook. The man himself was nearing his hundredth birthday, but still managed to take care of himself, whether that was because of his second hand Mr Portman, was another matter. Draco held Lord Ardenbrook in rather high esteem, not because of his wealth, but because the man had seen so much in his life time; having lived through and later battled in World War Two, under the pretence of a Muggle soldier; set to aid the front lines at D-day. He had lived through both uprisings of Voldemort, and never once having been touched no matter his power in pure blood social standings. Draco had to admit there was no doubt he found much to admire in the aging man.

The person who answered the door was Mr Portman, Mister Henry Portman, who fancied himself as the new Lord of the mansion, once the current one had passed. Mister Portman was a chubby fellow, who fell to the height of Draco's shoulders, just about, he was a male version of Molly Weasley in terms of proportion, however he lacked Molly's people skills and Draco would go so far as saying Henry had none.

"Mister Malfoy, to what do we have this pleasure?"

"I have a meeting with Lord Ardenbrook" Draco tried to keep the bite out of his voice but there was something about the man in front of him that just niggled, and it was an immediate reaction to be bitter towards.

Henry wobbled over to pick up a diary lay on the table near the door, scanning it, he had the audacity to smirk at Draco, "It appears you do not Mister Malfoy, perhaps I can book you in sometime next week?"

"I have a meeting today _Mister _Portman" Draco sneered at the man, he couldn't help it. "Now if you'd be so kind as to go and tell Lord Ardenbrook I am here, or shall I do so myself?" he went to step passed the portly man but he blocked Draco's path with his frame.

"That won't be necessary, we shall make an appointment for next week, and I shall see you then" he was clearly getting annoyed with Draco as he tried to force him back out the door he came, "Will Tuesday do?"

"Draco my boy, is that you?" A voice sounded from down the corridor, "I've been expecting you" Draco smirked at Henry, "Henry what in blazes are you doing let Draco in" Henry huffed as Draco shouldered his way back in.

"But he doesn't have an appointment"

"Oh shush, yes he does"

"But it's not in the diary"

The older gentleman shrugged his shoulder, "May be I forgot? My whole life isn't dictated by that you know I still have some marbles up here" he tapped his head, "To remember events." He signalled for Draco to follow him and he soon found himself in a cosy office. Signed photos of famous Quidditch players hung about the place, and pride of place just behind the older man's chair was a picture of Draco and Lord Ardenbrook shaking hands, the day Draco signed for Puddlemere United.

Draco's attention was summoned back to the Lord of the manor when he spoke; "Nasty business this, isn't it?" when Draco brought his eyes to what Ardenbrook was holding the _Daily Prophet_.

"It's not what it looks like Sir" the blond tried to explain, but was stopped when the elder man waved his hand.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's Harry? And there's no need to tell me Draco, I've got to admit you'd make a very good couple."

Draco rubbed the back of his neck, "Were not together"

"That's why I said you would make a very good couple. I never quite saw what she saw in the youngest Weasley" a twinkle formed in the older man's eyes. "She's much to intelligent for him, she needs someone who challenges her, just to promote stimulation of the brain cells, who can have a valid argument against her beliefs, even if they don't believe them themselves." He suddenly became solemn, "The pair of you remind me of something that happened to myself, many moons ago." He looked Draco in the eye, "Would you mind if I told you? I believe it may help you."

Draco shook his head, he was intrigued as to what Harry would say- the older man never divulged much of his private life.

"Many years ago, while I was at Hogwarts in Slytherin, there was someone who intrigued me, she was the smartest Witch in our year by far, she was a very good dueller and she could play Quidditch with the best of them. However she was a Gryffindor, much like Miss Granger was- the divide between the houses existed then as well, and when it came to our seven year the pair of us were picked as Heads. We didn't share a dormitory like you two did, however we were required to meet few days to organise rotas for the prefects. We often argued, and it was during these arguments I could see myself growing attracted to her, and her me. But we were both too proud and stubborn to do anything about this attraction, so we pretended it didn't exist, I could sometimes feel her staring at me with furrowed eyebrows. To me she was the most beautiful woman at the school, she maintained my interests even when others tried in vain to via for it."

"She was my, Miss Granger, and I can see many of her traits in Miss Granger, her teaching influence must have rubbed off on her. When I saw this woman many years later, after the battle at Hogwarts, imagine my surprise to find out she hadn't changed, sure she had aged but to me she had grown even more beautiful, she still had a bossy, know-it-all attitude, and I realised that I passed the opportunity to have, my hearts greatest desire."

"At the next possible moment I seized it, and I haven't looked back since. Don't dwell on the past Draco my boy." The older man suddenly clapped his hands together, not letting Draco have time to think on what he had said, "But enough of my senile jabbering, what can I do for you?"

Draco didn't speak for a moment, before he pulled his brief case onto his lap, "I was wondering whether I could make an offer to you for a majority stake in Puddlemere and Chudley Cannons?"

"Unfortunately, my shares in both teams will go to my heir." Draco hadn't factored in that fact- but who was the heir? As far as the blond was aware Lord Ardenbrook didn't have much, if any family left. So who could possibly be the heir?

The logical choice seemed to be Henry. Which meant Draco's plans had just hit a downward spiral, with likelihood of a crash landing.

"No chance, I could offer you money?" the older man shook his head.

"You see it would be unfair to make you pay for something which will one day be yours."

-DM-

**A/N: Wow, that update has been a long time in coming, but luckily it is finally finished and posted. For those of you who thought I had given up- I will never give up it just might take me a long time to update.**

**As always thank you to those that reviewed the previous chapter, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could leave a review with your thoughts of this chapter to, as well as the rest of the story.**

**Until the next update; Scorpio219 -x- **


	18. Shocks

_Previously: __The logical choice seemed to be Henry. Which meant Draco's plans had just hit a downward spiral, with likelihood of a crash landing._

"_No chance, I could offer you money?" the older man shook his head._

"_You see it would be unfair to make you pay for something which will one day be yours."_

Chapter 18: Shocks

"Me?"

"Yes you Draco. You see I have no family of my own, or none that keep in touch with me anyway. So I was thinking of my options, I could sell my businesses, but what would I spend the money on at my age? So I thought it best to have an heir. And after much consideration I believe you would be the best for the job." The older gentleman carefully watched Draco, "I only ask that you serve it well"

"I'm not sure what to say Lord Ardenbrook, of course I will, but I'd rather some money changed hands."

Harry considered Draco's point, "How about, an advertisement purchase, sponsorship from Malfoy and Son, you provide the brooms, and the merchandise, while getting your logo throughout the stadiums and on the kits and you take a small portion of the profits from said merchandise, a bit like you've bought a stake."

"And then when I finally leave this place, or decide to retire- you will take over the helm, after a few years behind the scenes learning the ropes"

Draco had to admit it did go a long stretch of the way to helping his dastardly plan to unfold, once he had control he could publically humiliate the Ginger git, everything was falling into place.

"So five-hundred-thousand galleons should do the trick then?" Draco asked.

He watched as a twinkle formed in the older man's eyes, before a smile found its way onto his wrinkling face. "I believe Draco my boy that will do perfectly, when would you like the transfer to take place?"

"As soon as possible. The sooner it's sorted, the sooner, I can get my finances in order, which brings me to my next proposal" Harry waved his hand for Draco to continue as he leant further forward in his seat, intrigued as to where their already elongated meeting was going to.

"I'm organising a consortium bid for a stake of sizable proportion in Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and am offering you a chance to be part of it." Draco was stopped as the office door opened and seconds later closed, as in walked a silver tabby cat, who settled itself on the desk in front of Harry as he leisurely began stroking the cats spine, it purring with contentment as soon as he did so.

Draco however stared at the cat, he for some reason recognised the cat, but for the life of him couldn't remember where from, he knew it was obvious but it was as if someone had obliviated his memory. The cat stared back, intently, tilting its head to the side and looked as if it was arching its eyebrow waiting for its identity to twig with Draco.

But he was stopped from working out the conundrum by Harry's voice, "So you want me to add some money to this consortium? How would this work?"

"Each member of the consortium has a stake in a middle company, in this case Scorpion Limited it's equal to prevent quarrels, we contact Weasley Wizard Wheezes, offering them a bid, for a decided stake in the company. They either accept or decline, though we will negotiate with them should they choose to decline our first offer."

"You mean the same Scorpion Limited company which is your own personal branch off of Malfoy and Son? The one hardly anyone knows about?" Draco nodded his head, "Good idea, a fairly unknown company looking into buying shares, less suspicious. However it begs the question why are you doing this?"

"I'm doing it on behalf of a friend." Was Draco's straight answer.

"Is she worth it?"

Draco's eyes briefly left the elder man's to look out of the window before they rested back on the suspiciously open newspaper on the desk, "Yes. Undoubtedly she is." The blond's eyes flickered back to Harry's, "I'd lay down my whole fortune for someone if they were worth it."

"Then I'll let you in on a little secret, I already own some shares in Weasley Wizard Wheezes, not to mention I know a few secrets that I wouldn't mind sharing about a certain Miss Granger and her husband." At the point the silver tabby hissed, turning to look at the older man, who stared back, seemingly having forgot the cat's attendance. "Though I do not wish to speak out of turn" he rushed immediately.

Draco could tell that their meeting was winding down, and he still had much to do in the day, so having said his goodbyes, he departed Lord Ardenbrook's estate, a smirk gracing his features, leaving two heated voices in the office, as he left the manor.

-DM-

"You had no right Harry and you know it!" a stern voice lectured the eighty year old man.

"You could see it in his eyes darling, he loves her. Always has, always will. You told me that."

"Yes. And it's the truth. But certain things she needs to tell him!"

-DM-

Having left one manor, Draco returned to his own manor, where once again Pansy was waiting for him.

"Drake, you read the article didn't you?"

"Read is a bit of an overestimate but I skimmed the shit that's wrote in their yes, and I must say someone has a good deal of imagination. However I noticed they didn't eagerly post their name on the article, I want to know who wrote it Pans, soon. They will learn the hard way to not step in the way of a Malfoy, they clearly don't care about self-preservation whatsoever."

"I've got people working on it Drake, it looks like it may have come from Lavender Brown by all accounts." A growl erupted low in Draco's chest. "I managed to pull the story from the rest of the presses for today, but its already out there. And I know they, all the reporters out there have been following Granger all morning. She's apparently barricaded herself in her office until the final lot of reporters are dragged out of the Ministry. She's not letting anyone in her office, extremely advanced magic or so I've been told."

Draco stood from the seat he'd reclined into; muttering "I'm going to her"

Pansy stopped him at the door way, "I don't think that's a very good idea, you're just going to fuel the fire of accusations, and you won't even make it into her office. Reporters will be all over you the second you reach the atrium of the Ministry."

"I'll just have to change my appearance then won't I?"

With an intricate flourish of his wand, Draco's notorious blond hair changed into a dark chocolate brown colour, and his eyes into an emerald colour. His skin darkened to a tanned skin pigment, he remained the same height but his build was slightly smaller. The only noticeable trait of a Malfoy he showed was the smirk and crook of his eyebrow.

Nobody would recognise him would they?

-HG-

-Meanwhile-

Hermione had spent the early part of the morning finalising the details of her divorce with the Minister for Marriages, and having signed many a papers, she was officially Hermione Granger once again. However the moment she had stepped into the Ministry that bright April morning she had been followed by reporters taking photos of her. The walk to her office an hour after the meeting had begun brought even more hassle; every reporter in England was there to get her photograph, or an interview, each mentioning something about an affair, a newspaper article, Draco Malfoy, and Death Eater. She had absolutely no reply to any of them not knowing what they were going on about, until she reached the sanctity of her office and saw a copy of the _Daily Prophet _on her desk and she proceeded to flick on through it.

Stopping on the third page, she immediately noticed what had the reporters swarming around her, a slander filled article, of lies, deceit, affairs, use of power for personal means. With each paragraph she gasped.

On the second paragraph down she realised the reporters had reached her office, so with a flick of her wand she locked the door, added a silencing charm so that they couldn't hear her, before bringing her eyes back to the newspaper. And more importantly the photograph.

She recognised the scene. Though it was clearly adapted, Hermione had to admit it looked much like them, and suddenly she had a flashback to their last kiss. In this exact room, she remembered the butterflies that started in her stomach as his head had began descended towards hers. How he managed to make her forget all about Ronald's infidelity with one simple kiss. How he'd put everything to one side to help her since finding her in the cemetery. Closing her eyes, the past few days played over and over in her mind.

-HG-

Hermione awoke with a start as banging on her office door could be heard, before someone tried the door handle, looking towards the door she could see a lone figure through the window pane, a fairly largely built man, who didn't look to be a journalist, his brown hair covering his eyes partially before his eyes looked through the pane.

"Hermione Granger? I really need to speak to you"

Taking the silencing charm down she replied "I'm not talking to anyone at the moment"

She could hear her assistant Elizabeth say something along the lines of "I told you sir" before the figure scribbled something onto a piece of parchment, and gave it to Elizabeth to give to Hermione. Before he began a leisurely pace out of the office space. Seconds later Elizabeth came into the newly unlocked room holding the parchment she passed to Hermione.

'"_Sometimes only in the most intense of situations, do we do the right thing."_

_Loyalty. One of many traits we have in common'_

She immediately recognised the quote as something she'd said during her seventh year, and 'Loyalty' was the password to the Heads common room, that herself and Draco had chosen. That meant that man, was Draco.

Rushing out of the office, she managed to catch up to the brown haired man half way to the lifts.

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me Princess" his husky voice spoke as she grabbed his arm. She didn't reply simply gave him a curt nod to follow her back to her office.

Only once again in the safety of her locked office, with a silencing spell and the window panes having a disillusionment spell on them, did Draco lift his glamour charm.

"I must say you are one very hard woman to get to see"

"What are you doing here Draco?"

He pointed towards the newspaper, "I came to see if you were alright, and to give you this" he held up a square box that he held in his hand.

"I'm fine." She stated as she took the box out of his hand not bothering to open it as she placed it onto her desk.

Draco rubbed his shoulder and neck, "How are the divorce proceedings going?"

"They finished today." Once again she answered curtly.

Draco immediately noticed her curt and dismissive tone, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing"

Grabbing her shoulders, Draco moved her towards the rooms couch, making her sit down, before proceeding to give her a neck and shoulder massage. Asking her to lie onto her front he continued down the expanse of her back, moans and groans coming from the brunette as he reached a rather kinked area of muscles. Once finished with her back he undid her shoes and leisurely began massaging one foot and then the other, before unconsciously massaging to her knees where he stopped, earning a rather docile moan from Hermione.

Deciding to leave her to have a pleasant nap, he penned a note on a spare piece of parchment he found lying about, kissed her forehead before he left the office. Much to the surprise of the ladies in the office, who hadn't realised exactly who had entered Hermione's office.

-HGDM-

* * *

**A/N**: And there we have it Chapter 18, I am truly sorry for the wait guys, I have been uber busy, with University, and working. However I finally managed to find a few hours instead of doing my essay, to pen this for you. Think of it as a belated Christmas present!

Please as usual leave me a review. I like to know what you guys think.

Til next time Scorpio219 -x-


	19. Misunderstandings

_Previously: Deciding to leave her to have a pleasant nap, he penned a note on a spare piece of parchment he found lying about, kissed her forehead before he left the office. Much to the surprise of the ladies in the office, who hadn't realised exactly who had entered Hermione's office._

Chapter 19: Misunderstanding

-HG-

Stretching her muscles, Hermione cautiously cracked open one eye, and then the other, breathing heavily through her nose, before a large yawn made its way through her mouth. Attempting to stretch her arms above her head she was surprised to make contact with an arm of hard leather, and that's when it hit her; she'd fell asleep for the second time that day in her office. She blamed the lack of sleep and constant thoughts whizzing through her head, now she had a nice kink in her neck, and had got no work done again. Deciding she was unlikely to get much work done in her office and considering it was close to four in the afternoon, she got up with the intention of collecting a few of the files she needed to get through and go take them home.

The closer to her desk she got, the more she realised that she hadn't opened the box Draco had given her, not only that he had been here, she'd been less than forthcoming with him, and he had been as patient as a saint with her, even giving her a massage.

Why couldn't she find a man that treated her like that? Oh wait she did, but nothing would ever happen between them, she wouldn't let anything happen she was just on the rebound, he was there. Just because he was caring, loyal, protective, intelligent, cunning, and some may even say sexy.

She was anything but interested in him...

When she opened the box her breath caught in her throat.

Slowly picking up the parchment with one hand, she slowly ran a fingertip down the black material underneath with her other hand. Lifting the black dress out, she immediately recognised the second and emerald green dress underneath.

"_I thought you would need a dress for the ball, so I took the liberty of getting the one you saw in Pansy's Robe's. The dress on top, is just a gift, wear it whenever you want. I'll speak to you soon._

_Draco x"_

The note was short, but not too short, she could see it wasn't rushed, that he had seemingly taken his time- a sharp contrast to other notes he had left her. Folding the black dress back up, she pulled the emerald one out, biting her lip as she held it up to her neck. She knew exactly how much it had cost, and knew beyond anything that the other dress would have been another top end dress, probably the same in price, so folding it back, she replaced both into the box, deciding she couldn't accept such an expensive gift.

Grabbing the box and the paperwork she needed she headed out of her office, instead of using the Ministry's floo network as she usually would, she walked casually to the apparition point, before the pulling sensation behind her navel brought her outside _his _ Wiltshire Manor.

The gates to the old manor creaked open as she stepped towards them, and she began her walk to the front door. Seconds after the doorbell rang a small house elf that Hermione didn't recognise appeared opening the door for her to step through.

"Hello miss. Welcome to Malfoy Manor. How may Tinie be of assistance?"

"I'm here to see Draco."

The elf gave a tiny squeak, "Master Draco has asked for any visitors to be taken to his office, Tinie will gladly show you the way." Before Hermione could reply the miniscule elf was walking towards the stairway, leaving her to trail behind.

On the second floor Hermione turned towards the right wing looking down the corridor out of some form of habit, and was surprised to see Draco's _naked_ back to her, him just dressed in a towel, his head bent forwards of his front. Wondering what he was doing she was about to call to him, when a feminine hand grabbed his right forearm, the fingers dancing on the damp skin. Before a head of black hair became prominent as the woman looked behind Draco, before ducking back behind his frame.

Draco's head whipped round, his steel irises immediately seeking Hermione's chocolate orbs, and for a few seconds they connected, before Hermione's sight dropped to the floor. She could see him still looking at her, and she heard him say her name, but she simply turned towards the stairs again, walking up them towards his office.

His clipped tone reverberated off the hallway, making its way to her ears; "Leave Katie, NOW" the black haired girl tried to reply but Draco just pointed to the stairs, leaving her to make her own way out. Whilst Draco went into his room to change into some clothes.

-DM-

Rushing around his room, Draco towelled his body of the excess water from his body, grabbing a pair of green silk boxers, and a pair of pinstriped black trousers, he quickly put them on, before putting his socks and shoes on. On his way out of his door he grabbed the crisp white shirt hanging on the back of the door, he hastily threw it over his shoulders, not bothering to either do up the buttons or dry his hair, before he was sprinting up the stairs and bursting into his office.

"Sorry about tha-" he cut off the moment he noticed Hermione wasn't in his office, the box she had been carrying was perched on his desk, walking over to it, there was no note attached, and looking inside he realised both the dresses he had given her were still inside.

Turning back around he dashed out of the office, taking the stairs two at a time, with his large strides, and as he got closer to the main door he could see Hermione's silhouette down the pebbled path. Pulling the door open with almost enough force to bring it off its hinges he called her name again. She ignored him, continuing to walk.

Making it to the bottom of the steps leading to the door, he shouted her name louder, causing her to stop but forgo turning around to meet him.

"What?" she shouted back to him, her back to him, as she brought a hand up to her eyes making sure she wasn't unknowingly crying!

Hermione heard the crunching of the pebbles as he walked towards her, and as he touched her shoulder, she flinched moving forward, and she heard him sigh.

"It's not what it looks like." He whispered so low that she almost didn't hear him, almost.

"What recreational things you get up to is no concern of mine. Like you've said you're the most eligible bachelor in the country of course it wouldn't be hard for you to find someone interested in you."

"It's not like that." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Will you look at me?"

"I just came to thank you for the dresses, but that I can't accept such a gift." She said as she continued to be turned away from him.

"Princess, look at me." She slowly turned around only to be immediately drawn to his naked torso.

"I-" she looked up into his eyes, and paused.

"Can we go inside, it's quite nippy out here" to emphasis his point he pointed to the extremely pointed nipples and goose-bumped covered chest he had.

"I've got work to do, I have to make dinner for myself and Rose, I really need to get going."

As if on some sort of timer, the heavens suddenly opened and the pair was caught in the middle of a rare Wiltshire April shower. Draco was the first to react, grasping Hermione's hand he began trailing back to the house, the rain getting heavier and heavier the closer they got causing him to break into an almost sprint until the doors.

Once in the hallway Hermione finally found her voice again, "I really need to get this work done Malfoy" he simply nodded, reaching out to remove some loose hair which had stuck itself to her face.

"Let me explain what happened and then you can go do your work. And don't worry about dinner; I'll take the pair of you out, you and Rose, me and Scorpius. Please."

Hermione sighed running her hands over her face, "Why are you so insistent that I let you explain?" she paused looking him square in the eye, "And do you really think, us going out in public together, is a really wise choice after that article?"

"We'll eat here, I'll cook, my mother's out anyway, I'm sure Scorpius would love to see Rose, and Amando is also around tonight, it'll be good for them to mix before they go to Hogwarts."

Breathing heavily through her nose, she continued to look him straight in the eye, "You're evading my question" she stated.

"You want to know why I want to explain?" she nodded, "I don't want to see that look of utter disappointment when you look at me, the same one you get when you talk about that git of an ex-husband of yours. I want to prove to you that not all men are as callous, as to one minute be kissing you, before turning round and kissing someone else. I want to explain to you that first impressions aren't always what they seem."

"And while we're on this subject, Katie was sent round by yet another company looking for Malfoy and Son investment, to use her womanly charm to get me to do anything they wanted. She was sent to the office by Tinie, whilst I had a shower after playing Quidditch with Scorpius and Amando, but she took it upon herself to try it on with me instead. That is what you saw, me telling her to leave it, before she lost all chance of an investment. She didn't take too kindly to me telling her that she certainly wasn't what I was looking for."

Hermione's mouth opened in realisation, and her eyes turned towards the floor; "See we are not all like Weasley!" he hissed.

She ran a hand through her damp hair, "I don't want to argue with you Draco, I'm simply too exhausted. I just came to give you back the dresses. I really don't care what you get up to in your own time. What would it matter to me? We've kissed that's it. There are absolutely no emotional entanglements here; we're just two people, just us; Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy." She looked up at him, "We're friends I don't want anything to come between that, but I really need to get going."

Just as she was about to leave, Draco finally spoke up, "What if the reason I wasn't interested in Katie's advances was because I had my eyes set on someone else?"

"Draco please." She turned so her back was to him.

"Have dinner with me."

"Draco-"

"Please."

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, another update, I thought I'd give you an extra one, as a christmas/ new year treat. When the next one will be up, I have no idea. Anyways, you know the drill please leave a review, let me know how your feeling about the stories progression, it's always greatly appreciated.

Now I have two questions for you [Answers in reviews please]:

1.) Should Hermione accept his dinner invitation?

Also

2.) Should Draco divulge his plan to Hermione?

3.) I know I said two questions, but I thought I'd get your thoughts, what do you think should happen next? Take their relationship up another level? Another spanner in the works? Anything. Let me hear any thoughts you have, or even what you think may happen.

Scorpio219 -x-


	20. Secrets

_**Disclaimer: I am not and therefore never will be J.K. Rowling; and as such the story I shall post consists of my own plot, and borrowed Characters from J.K.**_

Chapter 20: Secrets

_Previously: Just as she was about to leave, Draco finally spoke up, "What if the reason I wasn't interested in Katie's advances was because I had my eyes set on someone else?"_

"_Draco please." She turned so her back was to him._

"_Have dinner with me."_

"_Draco-"_

"_Please."_

-HGDM-

Draco waited patiently for her response, and when he finally heard her take a deep breath, he knew she was ready, but whether she'd take his offer or refuse remained to be seen.

"I really need to do this work" she stated, looking over her shoulder at the blond.

He nodded his head, "How about a compromise?" he suggested as his final resort. She nodded for him to continue, intrigued as to what he was going to say. "You bring your work here, use my desk for all intents and purposes to do whatever you need to do, Rose has company with Scorpius and Amando, and you get dinner cooked for you?"

"And the catch is..." she trailed as she eyed the Slytherin dubiously.

He shuck his head, a few more of the water droplets leaving his flaxen hair, "No catch, however, I insist you wear that black dress"

Hermione closed her eyes partially contemplating his request, "I agree, but that's all this is, dinner between two acquaintances, no ulterior motive, and I will only eat once I have finished the work."

Draco simply nodded his head "Of course Ma Chérie"

-DM-

Draco was beyond ecstatic that she had consented to spending another evening in his company. He'd decided that he was no longer going to take the careful route to get this particular Witch as his- he was going to be straight to the point, forthcoming on his desires. However for the moment being he was going to allow her to call the shots.

He watched with contemplating eyes as Hermione floo'd away to her home, in order to collect her daughter before returning to the Manor. Before he himself continued his earlier work, after writing a rather heated letter to Katie's boss.

Tonight was the start of many similar nights to come Draco could feel it.

-HG-

Once Hermione had reached the sanctity of her own abode she leant heavily on the fireplace surrounding the hearth. Deep breathing and with a hand over her heart she tried to calm her emotions- as well as quelling the tightening that had taken up residence somewhere in her lower abdomen.

She was aware her feelings for the Slytherin were evolving thick and fast as the days progressed- however she just couldn't fathom why. Yes he was caring, loyal, protective, he was intelligent, and cunning. But she was anything but attracted to him...

'_Yeah right.' _A cynical voice in her head announced.

Okay, so there was some physical attraction to the blond, but that was it, simply her body's reaction to the words he said, the way he acted towards her, around her. There were no emotional attachments whatsoever- the tightening of her chest was yet another way of her body disagreeing with her.

Was she truly just on the rebound looking for a companion for a time that could show her she was desirable, and wanted? As she herself assumed. Or was there more to the story than her current vision could see?

Not wanting to dwell on her current predicament she collected her work from her make shift office also known as her bedroom, before apparating to pick up her daughter from her grandparents home, before apparating once again back to the place she seemed to have spent a lot of time in the past week: Malfoy Manor.

-HG-

-3 Hour later-

True to his word Draco had left Hermione to do her work in his office, only once having spoken to her to confirm that both her and Rose both enjoyed Spaghetti Bolognaise- before he had retired back downstairs.

After flicking through her third case file of the hour, Hermione needed another ink pot for her quill, and began rummaging around Draco's desk, in search of one. Opening the first draw on the right hand side she saw no ink pot, however on beginning to close it she noticed a piece of parchment with her name on sticking out of the second folder down in the draw.

Intrigued she lifted the pile of five folders onto the desk- and immediately opened the second one with the piece of parchment sticking out. She was even more surprised to find her whole history inside- from her childhood to news articles she had been in before, during and after the war.

Furrowing her eyes brows she flicked open the third file to find it full of information relating to her ex-husband, as well as information similar to that found in her file his contained, financial details, businesses he had links to, meetings he had seemingly been to that even Hermione knew nothing about. Looking further through the file it seemed as if at one point or another someone had documented every little step her ex had taken, a diary of sorts. The next two folders were pertaining to Harry Ginny, George, and Mr and Mrs Weasley. But the one that was of major interest was the top file, written in Draco's script were ideas, all pertaining to a plan, a step-by-step instructions. That if you were to first just look at it you had no idea what the word meant. But Hermione was able to pull out some important words and phrases.

'Stake', 'downfall', 'profit', 'transaction' and finally 'revenge'

Just as she got onto the second piece of parchment the office door opened and Draco walked in- freezing Hermione at his desk.

"Hermione, dinner will be served in twenty minutes just waiting for the pasta to be ready. How-" He cut off as he recognised the file she held in her hand. Making sure it was indeed the file he walked closer to the desk peering over the top, and sighing when it was confirmed.

Berating himself for being as stupid enough to just leave the files around he didn't bother to wait for the brunette to speak before words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"Look it's not what it looks like..."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it is- you're trying to get revenge for old school grudges." She shook her head as she started to pack away her folders, "And here I was thinking that somewhere in that fickle head of yours you may have cared..." She continued shaking her head as she spoke, "Was it extremely convenient that you found me in the cemetery that day, hmmm? Did it just work out in your little grand scheme of things?"

"Yes... I mean no. This is for you, all of it, is for you, you and Rose"

"Spare me the ear ache of you telling me lies Malfoy" with that for what seemed like the hundredth time in his lifetime Hermione Granger walked away leaving a disgruntled, Draco Malfoy in her wake.

However one thing she never factored in was her daughter Rose's wants, the young girl insisted on staying for their meal at the manor, and Hermione begrudgingly respected her wishes like she had done many times before. Even if it meant spending time in the company of the foul git and ferret- Draco Malfoy.

After the meal, that Hermione had ignored Draco throughout- even as he watched and failed to engage her throughout. Hermione and Draco were left alone, as the children ran off to play, once Draco had dismissed them. She tried to occupy herself by taking her own and Rose's plates into the kitchen and began washing them the old fashioned Muggle way, when she felt him graciously walk into the room behind her, and place the other plates on a bench located somewhere in the room.

She could feel him watching her, and as the seconds ticked by waited for him to say something, anything, to break the awkward tense silence that had enveloped them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him down a glass of wine before replenishing the glass as well as another before sliding one along the worktop, stopping right next to her.

Looking out of the corner of her eye she tilted her head to the side in order to see the once head-boy, before her fingers wrapped around the wine glass bringing it up to her lips a second later, whilst Draco watched the Rose coloured liquid slide between her lips.

He downed another glass before he finally spoke; "That revenge wasn't for me, it was on behalf of you, and your honour" letting the sentence hang in the air he poured himself a further glass.

Turning to face him she crossed her arms over her chest, her right hand still grasping the glass which she brought to her mouth as she nodded for him to continue.

He haphazardly pulled a hand through his locks, rubbing the back of his neck in the process, he nervous tick. "What _he _did was low, very low, he took the one thing you valued above all else and crushed it- your family. So I plan to give him a taste of his own medicine, I plan to take everything he thinks is important- money, stature, Quidditch and rip it from underneath him. Those files are from Pansy, I asked for them, to help me work out what makes him tick!"

Hermione nodded taking all of the information in, before replying; "Did you ever think about what impact this would have on me?"

Furrowing his eyebrows Draco took a step towards Hermione who had turned away to look out of the kitchen window of the manor. "I did... I thought about everything." He paused as he got closer to her, "I have a feeling I didn't though, did I?"

The brunette shook her head, "Secrets Draco, secrets. Not everyone knows everything about my life, our life" she rubbed over her face with her hands. "The same as that file showed me things about my ex-husband that even I didn't know, there are things in my life that not many other people know, even Harry or Ginny."

Draco finally situated himself behind her, rubbing calming circles with the pad of his thumbs around her shoulders, leaning in to whisper in her ear; "What impact does this have on my plan?" he asked carefully.

She leant her head back against his chest tilting her head ever so slightly to look him in the eye, "That depends on exactly what you plan to do. I want no detail spared."

Draco simply nodded his assent, and just as he was about to wrap his arms around her torso, and pull her closer to his frame, a voice sounded from the doorway. "Mum, are we staying for the night?" Looking from her daughter to Draco, Hermione sought confirmation of them being able to stay the night and when he nodded his head she turned back to her daughter, relaying the message with a simple nod of the head. Young Rose's face lit up; "Were going to have a sleep over in Scorpius' tree house" and with that declaration she sprinted off again.

Leaving Hermione to look dubiously up at the blond wizard still stood flush behind her. "Its fine" he finally admitted, immediately for some reason putting Hermione's fears at bay.

-HGDM-

-Later that night-

With the kids safely tucked up in the tree house Hermione and Draco were once again in his office ready to talk about Draco's plans. Draco stood behind his desk, whilst Hermione sat herself down on the leather couch.

"I'm not quite sure where to begin..." he trailed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck before coming to sit next to her on the couch. "I guess I should start with what I'm going to do," only when she nodded did he continue, "I'm gathering a consortium interested in purchasing a stake in Weasley Wizard Wheezes, I looked into purchasing a majority stake of Puddlemere and Chudley Cannons-as I remember the latter were your husband's favourite Quidditch team. I used those files to see where I could hurt him the most, and it seems he has his own cafe and sweet shop in Hogsmeade- I want to look at acquiring a majority stake in that as well- thus taking away his control of the company." He paused turning towards Hermione, "Does any of that affect you?"

Giving the blond a kind of sad smile she nodded her head; "A few years ago, Ronald was going to leave me- and at the time I was pregnant- and he knew it. He was willing to leave me pregnant, with no family apart from his own, but said he'd stay under the condition that I gave him money. Six-hundred and fifty thousand pounds to be exact- which is equivalent to about-"

"One hundred and thirty thousand galleons" Draco replied.

"Yes, and pretty much my whole savings, and what I inherited from my parents, everything they worked hard for, I gave away in the blink of an eye to keep a hold of the one thing I thought I needed more than anything. From those files he I learnt chances are he gambled it away, having opened his business in Hogsmeade."

When she was no longer forth coming with her story, Draco gently enquired "You said you were pregnant, what happened?"

He could see the small tears in her eyes, "I lost my baby"

-HGDM-

**A/N: Hello guys, right there you have it chapter 20! Woo, who was expecting that little twist aye? I hope you all enjoy it- and I'm sorry for not being around for a while, University life is taking up a lot of my general life as well.**

**Please if you read my story, review it to, it helps me improve and shows me what you like/ dislike. I'd say they help me write faster- and to be honest every time I get a review I look over the story and write that little bit extra. So what Tesco's say is true; 'Every little helps'.**

**For those previous reviewers- thank you it is greatly appreciated.**

**Scorpio219 **


	21. Scars

A/N: Before anyone reads ahead and thinks, jeez it's a short chapter, this is a kind of taster for what else is to come, and look at the past. And it's also for me to get back into writing, I've been out of practice for a while and penned this, this morning- so bare with me if there are any spelling grammar mistakes, feel free to point them out to me- I don't mind. I felt those of you waiting for the next chapter have waited long enough, and while my muse decides what it wants to do, I have this drabble style chunk, for you to sink you teeth into and hopefully get back on the bandwagon of _Enough_.

EDIT 1.) Since the last update, I have added a slight extra tid-bit into the chapter- this is by no means complete yet. I'm trying to get my style back- and it's a hard process. Please really do bare with me!

_Previously__: When she was no longer forth coming with her story, Draco gently enquired "You said you were pregnant, what happened?"_

_He could see the small tears in her eyes, "I lost my baby"_

**Chapter 21**

Draco didn't know what to say. Of all the secrets someone could possibly have, he hadn't been expecting that. "I was lucky to have had Rose at all … there are many scars of war," she finally admitted, after she allowed her confession to settle.

"And what a great asset she is to you." Draco finally found his voice.

"She is indeed."

A kind of comfortable silence fell between them as Draco assessed Hermione in a new light; now he was able to see much of the weight she was holding on her shoulders.

"What you've just told me has made him even lower in my opinion," Draco admitted as he walked closer to Hermione. "You deserve so much more." He clasped her hand and brought it up to his lips, giving the back of it a chaste kiss.

She slowly rubbed a thumb across his cheek. "Thank you, but you can't tell anyone else." She began pulling her hand away but he swiftly pulled it back, pulling her body towards his, and began leaning his head down towards hers; so close now, he whispered, 'Wouldn't dream of it,' before his lips had captured hers.

When they broke for air he muttered a quick, "I could give you what you deserve," before he leant forward again.

"Draco, I can't … remember what happened last time?"

At first he thought she meant in her office, but when he looked at her face she seemed to be thinking about a distant memory, and with a gentle probing of her mind, he gasped.

"You …" he trailed off his own sentence, as he stepped away from Hermione.

"I can't go through that again," she whispered. "You … _we_ made our choices. I can't simply decide that now is a good time."

"You never told me you felt like that," he accused.

"And you never told me any of what you were planning; you never told me _anything_ Draco, you were as guarded as you are now!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She sighed, heaving her shoulders up as she shrugged slightly, "I don't know, it seemed inappropriate, you had a duty to uphold. I know how much your family means to you, I couldn't do that to you Draco. We all have scars of war- some were worse than others..." She trailed slightly as she crouched to look into the blond's eyes. "You were so happy when you told me Astoria was pregnant, beaming in fact, I knew I had to move on or grow old and miserable" she whispered the final part, and it was Draco's turn to lightly grip her face, running his thumb along Hermione's jaw line.

"You seemed happy for me" he replied a single furrow in his brow.

Hermione bit her lip as she turned away from Draco, walking to the window of his office, "During that year I lived in close quarters with you, you taught me many things, one of which was to lie- convincingly."

He nodded his head, "I'm sorry if my actions forced you into the arms of Weasley, and thus everything that has come since." He closed his eyes slowly before opening them and staring into the flames of the fireplace.

"Don't apologise" she announced still turning away from him, "I don't regret anything, everything happens for a reason, the past has given me Rose as I've already said, she is my world." She sighed loudly, "However because of the past, I can't agree to anything between us."

Draco continued to stare at the flame lost in contemplation, and after a few minutes of neither speaking, he finally voiced a question he needed to know the answer to, "Did you love me?"

Hermione didn't miss a beat, "No"...

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, and I shall hopefully have the finished chapter soon.

Scorpio219


	22. Contemplation

**_A/N: Make sure you've read the updated version of the previous chapter, or you will feel like you've missed a big section out!_**

_Previously: Draco continued to stare at the flame lost in contemplation, and after a few minutes of neither speaking, he finally voiced a question he needed to know the answer to, "Did you love me?"_

_Hermione didn't miss a beat, "No"..._

**Chapter 22: Contemplation**

There was pregnant pause, "...I still do"

Draco, whose head had dropped at her first statement, snapped it back up at the second part, began walking over to Hermione who was looking intently out of the window. "Did you just say what I think you did?"

When she didn't reply, he whispered into her ear as he got within a few inches of her, "Did you say, you still love me?"

Her back stiffened and she took a barely noticeable step away from the warmth of his body behind her. When she moved, Draco gently put his hand on her shoulder to turn her from her incessant staring out of the window, but her voice broke forth, "Please don't touch me." There was so much emotion behind her words that something inside Draco broke.

-DMHG-

A knock and then creaking open of the office door caused Hermione and Draco to freeze on the spot. Their Italian classmate stepped over the threshold, holding a folder similar to those that Hermione had found in Draco's drawer in his hand. Draco's hand was still settled on her shoulder, and he looked like a deer caught in headlights as he turned towards Blaise.

Blaise himself looked confused at seeing the Gryffindor in Draco's office, and quickly shuffled the papers sticking out of the folder back into its depths, his eyes rushing backwards and forwards between Hermione and Draco.

"Drake I brought that other file." He ran his hand through his raven hair, "Pans says to tell you she may have something else for you as well, about the article."

At the mention of an article, Hermione's gaze flickered quickly from outside the window to Draco's over her shoulder, to see the flaxen haired man looking intently at any place but at her, even more so when she squared her shoulders, making her back go rigid.

Only when she turned to fully face him did he face her, and saw as she mouthed the word 'Article?'

Breathing heavily through his nose, Draco nodded his head at his friend before directing his speech at Hermione. "Hermione will you wait downstairs? I'll come and see you when I've spoken to Blaise."

"We have nothing else to discuss," she shook her head as she quickly rushed out of the door through which Blaise had entered.

"I have a feeling I interrupted something... Something important," Blaise admitted once Hermione was out of ear shot.

Draco breathed heavily through his nose, running his hands harshly up and down his face before rubbing at his eyes, and running his hands haphazardly through his hair. "I'm fucked!" he whispered, his eyes flickering to the flames of the fire.

"What do you mean?" Draco knew Blaise was being curious but he couldn't tell him the information Hermione had just divulged, not one single scrap of it.

"I can't say." Blaise nodded at his blond friend in understanding.

"If you do want to say, I will listen mate. This has been a long time in coming..." Blaise trailed, as the pair of them knew what he was referring to and thus didn't need to go into much detail about it.

Draco nodded as he flicked through the file that the other man had passed him. "What is this?" His eye brow arched as he scanned the page's content. "Is this true?"

Blaise simply nodded, "It's worse than we expected, or even anticipated"

Draco ran his hand thoughtfully up and down his jaw line and across his chin. "What are Gringott's rules on transfers between single personal vaults?" It was Blaise's turn to furrow his brow.

"The ministry has become quite strict on personal vaults; transfers have to be signed by the payee and the payer, and there is a limit."

"What about if it was so that the payee wasn't to know?"

Looking curiously at his friend Blaise divulged, "Well that's impossible nowadays, there will be a few of the older goblins that would allow it, but Drake, look at the file. If it's what I'm thinking is what you're planning on doing, it would be futile."

Draco scanned through the finer details of the file, "Shit!" he finally exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Blaise looked at his friend and could tell he was about to ask him a serious question, so without waiting, Blaise steam rolled ahead, "Remember what we did for Scorp and for Amando?" Draco nodded. "You need to do that again."

"But that was different circumstances, surely"

Blaise waggled his eye brows, "All you need is a financial adviser recognised by Gringott's." At this point, he pointed to himself before adding, "And maybe a Goblin on your side to smoothly run it through the system." He paused momentarily. "I'd say give me a few hours to knock up the paper work and it'll be done by, oh I don't know, midday tomorrow?"

"If you could, that would be great!" Blaise chuckled. "And while you're at it, I'm sure you have enough charm at your disposal to get me a viewing on a house? Or even make a bid for it?"

"I owe you remember!"

Draco shook his head, "The bid is sounding like a much better idea, blackmail as well..." a predominant smirk found its way onto the blond's face- "Oh this is going to be good."

-HGDM-

-Meanwhile-

Hermione rushed out of the office and down the stairs to a bedroom before anyone could even contemplate saying 'Nargles'. She leant heavily on the closed door trying to bring her emotions into check. 'What in blazes had she done?' She must have lost the plot completely to have told him- that!

She'd never told anyone that she loved them, not even Ron, and she certainly had never told anyone she held any romantic notions with Draco Malfoy. And now she had told him she loved him, not only that she had loved him, but that she still did! She was in deep trouble; she knew he wouldn't let the topic slip until he had exhausted all lines of questions, and she wasn't sure if she could answer them.

When had she become a woman who would marry a man while still being in love with another man? Oh yeah, eleven years ago. She suddenly felt as if the weight of the whole world had settled on her shoulders. She'd learned so much in the past few hours about herself, her ex-husband, and Draco Malfoy, that she couldn't take it anymore and decided she needed to rest her addled brain.

Changing into the green negligee she had worn a few days earlier, she dressed for bed, opening the French doors into the room before clambering under the duvet situated in the centre of the room. She curled into a ball in the heart of the bed spread.

Alas, sleep did not consume her straight away and she was left with her thoughts swirling about her head.

She had been denying her attraction to the blond for so long and yet his sincerity when he asked whether she had loved him, made her unable to deny him the answer he sought, and thus she was unable to lie to him. Then she remembered his advances beforehand, how he had said he could give her 'what she deserved'. If only she could take him up on that offer, but she'd already been hurt too much in one life time; she couldn't go through it all again... Could she?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a cautious knock of a fist on the door to the room. Summarising it to be Draco, she feigned some semblance of sleep by closing her eyes and evening out her breathing in the hopes that should he enter, he would leave soon after realising she was 'asleep'. Luck however appeared to not be on her side, as the door creaked open and in walked the blond who was the main actor in her thoughts.

"Hermione?" he whispered into the darkened room, and she heard him pad silently over to the bed, where it dipped as he sat at the edge closest to the door, acting as a shield against the cold air blowing in through the opening. "Princess?" he sighed when she didn't answer, "I know you're not asleep," he whispered after a few seconds, "I just want you to know, what you said earlier..." here he paused, as if for dramatic effect, "... I feel the same way- but you probably already know this." With that said, he began to get up from his perched position on the bed.

* * *

**A/N:** A big thank you to my beta **NumeralNerd** for getting this chapter back to me as quick as she did, and for her continuing work throughout the rest of_ Enough_

Same as usual guys, please leave a review to let me know what you think!

I hope you enjoyed it, and continue to. Isn't Draco so devilish? And... Slytherin?

Til the next; Scorpio219 -x-


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23:

"Draco wait!" In her head Hermione was screaming at herself, why couldn't she just keep quiet! "I've not had any calming draught"

He nodded, though she didn't see, "We have a store of it downstairs, I'll get you some..." he trailed as he attempted to stand, but was stopped when her hand shot out, grappling blindly for his arm in the dark.

"It's okay; just stay with me, please?"

Draco's answer was the dull sound of his dragon hid shoes hitting the carpeted floor of the room, before the bed once again dipped under his weight as he leant against the head board and settled on top of the covers. He didn't speak, simply turned his head to look out of the open doors.

"Draco?" Hermione spoke after a few moments, getting a gruff 'hmm' sound as a reply, which caused her to sigh, breathing heavily through her nose- "What did Blaise want?"

"He just wanted to sort out a poker match for tomorrow night"

She sighed again, "Draco I wasn't born yesterday" when he didn't say anything and just continued to look out of the doorway she continued, "You promised to tell me everything" she pointed out.

"I'm going to a poker match, with Blaise tomorrow," he insisted.

Hermione rubbed her hand harshly up her face, and into her hair, "I don't like being lied to..." she trailed as she continued to scrutinise him in the moon light that was conveniently painting his pale face in shadows. Before she suddenly sat up, turning fully towards him "Look at me" she commanded.

Draco lazily turned his head towards her, taking in the skewed neckline of the negligee, her slightly messy curls, before stopping at her tear streaked cheeks, which caused him to be suddenly hit with the realisation that she had been crying at some point between being in his office and now. But not enough that her chocolate orbs had melted to the caramel colour they often did when she cried. As his eyes scanned her features quickly he used his right hand to capture her jaw, rubbing his thumb along her cheek and jaw line. Before he ever so slowly leant forward catching her trembling lips in a chaste kiss, "I'm not lying to you" he whispered breaking the kiss.

When Hermione leant in to give him another kiss, but he pressed his index finger up to her lip, before intertwining his other hand with her left as it came up to run along his cheek. "I heard what you said earlier, nothing can happen between us"

"Just indulge me" she replied once again leaning in towards the blond, whose resolve was failing, "I just need something to occupy my mind" she whispered. It was true she had swarms and swarms of thoughts going around her head- she needed to be grounded. And as she pressed her lips to the blonds she felt exactly that.

Her statement caused Draco to be torn, on one side he wanted to put her mind at ease but on the other he didn't want to complicate their already complex relationship, nor did he want to be either a rebound for her, or something equally unsubstantial.

When she leant back to gasp at much needed air, he firmly grasped her fingers again, "Talk to me"

"Tell me what Blaise really wanted" she argued.

"I told you, we sorted out-"

"A 'poker match'" she cut him off using air quotations, "The truth?"

"That is" he insisted.

"The rest then..."

"_He's_ going to be there, hopefully" Draco clarified as he ran a hand down the side of her face, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear. Draco knew he didn't need to define the _he_ with which he was referring.

"What do you hope to achieve?" she questioned softly.

Draco sat up straighter against the headboard, "He took what you held dear away from you... This is revenge"

"Draco you don't have to do this."

He laughed a menacing sound, "You know I love getting one up on the Weasel."

"Malfoy now isn't really the time for jokes"

He conceded, nodding his head, "I want to do it"

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason?"

She nodded her head, "For all I know you could be doing it to get in my pants" he was about to start laughing when he noticed there was no humour on her face, just a look of pure concentration and seriousness.

"You already know. Why are you questioning my motives?" She remained silent, and then heard him sigh, "You know sometimes I think you just want a verbal spar with me, you know I hate repeating myself, and I hate you questioning me why I'm doing something- especially when you do it constantly."

"Well I hate you constantly keeping things from me" she breathed heavily through her nose, "I hate that you only tell me half truths, I hate how you take everything serious to be a joke. But most of all I hate how you, my one time enemy, seems to care about me than the man I loved, than the man I married, the man who was once my best friend."

Draco clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "That's because he is too thick skulled to realise that everything he needed in life was right in front of him. He's had everything given to him on a plate. He happened to be in the same Hogwarts House as Harry Potter the boy wonder, he then attached himself to become his best friend like the leech that he is. Then you came along, the greatest witch of the century, you were his ticket to 'Outstandings' throughout his education, or at least anything better than the 'Trolls' he should have gotten. He used you- plain and simple."

"I clearly wasn't the brightest witch of the century to not notice that" she pointed out.

"No" he shook his head, "You just like to believe the best in someone- anyone, no matter the crimes they have committed, and you're quick to forgive" She didn't say anything for a few moments so Draco prodded her again, "What else is on your mind?"

She shook her head, causing Draco to give her a little bit of encouragement, "Am I attractive?" she suddenly blurted out before slapping her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide with having aired the question she had been battling in her head whether to say or not. Draco was equally surprised by her question as she was, and for few moments could only stare. Her question caused her cheeks to flame red, before she turned away from Draco and began to stand from the bed, only stopping when his larger hand grasped her dainty wrist. "It's okay, I don't want you to answer that question"

Draco for his part didn't say a word as she rambled both to herself and aloud how daft she must have been to have asked the question in the first place. Draco cautiously wetted his lips, before annunciating his answer, "Are you attractive?" he repeated. This again caused her cheeks to go an even darker shade of scarlet.

"You don't need to answer" she clarified, pulling her wrist from his grasp, before saying lowly, "It's pretty obvious your answer"

"Are you attractive" he mused, "I'd say wholeheartedly yes." He paused looking her form up and down, "Why do you ask?" he questioned.

Hermione shook her head, "No reason. I was just curious"

"For you to ask, someone must have said something to you," her breathing hitched, "Was it the Weasel?" he asked intuitively. And got his answer in the form of her gasping, which wouldn't have been easily picked up on, had the room not been so silent to begin with. "I've told you before he is a moron" he said in a condescending voice before softening it, "You're not just attractive physically, but mentally, you tick every single one of my boxes, and any man, as I've said before, needs to be checked into Saint Mungo's if he doesn't agree."

He leant over and grasped her wrist again, pulling her back towards the bed. "You need sleep, so sleep" he insisted.

Once she had snuggled back under the duvet she spoke again, a yawn accompanying her speech at the end, "I've been thinking, did you go to see Harry Ardenbrook about getting a stake in Puddlemere and Chudley Cannons?"

"You know Lord Ardenbrook?" he questioned surprised.

She sleepily nodded her head, "Him and Professor McGonagall have been like my parents since-" she paused taking a deep yawn, "Well you know when..." she trailed slightly before adding as an afterthought, "They make quite the cute old couple!"

"Professor McGonagall?" he repeated, and Hermione just lazily nodded her head, "The silver cat!" he suddenly exclaimed, but it was too late, Hermione was already in the land of nod.

* * *

_**A/N: **_By now you know the drill, review, let me know what you think, hate it love it, let me know.

Also, sorrrryyyyyyy for the really long update and the no doubt 'Ahhhh, she's back... With this' comments. But I needed to get back into writing, and this was a cute piece I needed to get out of the way! :)

Scorpio219 -x-


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A slight shuffling of feet along the hard wooden floor downstairs had Draco slowly rousing from his sleep. Blearily opening his eyes taking in his surroundings the most prominent being the fact his left arm was being used as a pillow by the owner of the mass of curly hair facing and burrowing into his pit and chest. Content to simply fall back into the land of the rather marvellous dream he had been having he closed his eyes breathing deeply into the mass of hair he found in front of him.

That is when he heard it, more frequent shuffles, as someone entered the floor level he was on, before a harsh thud indicating they may have stumbled, before they began ascending the stairs the creaking of the stair floorboards getting further and further away.

Deciding to investigate he extricated himself from Hermione's form covering her form in the duvet to slow down the cold protrusions from attacking her limbs in his absence. Sliding out of the room into the hallway he stealthily making his way up the stairs. Knowing both his Father's and his own studies were locked by powerful magic he made his way into the library.

The first thing he noticed was that the room was chilled to the core, the hearth on the back wall having not been enchanted to illuminate and warm the tombs of books. Moving along the rows of books to the central aisle he noticed a figure bent over near the hearth seemingly examining it for a means to start the roaring flames. Swirling his wand Draco suddenly started the fire, causing the figure to shriek in surprise and Draco to be able to see their face as they looked confusedly towards him.

The wide eyes of Rose Weasley looked back at him, looking so much like her mother in that moment, Draco walked closer to her, before realising and pausing where he was.

"I didn't mean to disturb you Mister Malfoy"

He shook his head, "You didn't, I wasn't asleep" he lied smoothly deciding to step closer to the warmth the fire was emitting, "Any particular reason you are here?"

"I couldn't sleep" the girl admitted, staring into the flames.

"Something on your mind?" Rose simply shook her head, "I know your lying- as I've said before you and your mother share the inability to lie sometimes." She shrugged her shoulders. "You don't have to tell me, but I'll listen trust me" he left his sentence to hang in the air. And it didn't take long for Rose to bite, though admittedly for Draco she had much more control over her questioning nature than her mother did.

"Everything's going to change isn't it" she finally relented, looking towards the blond briefly before turning back around. "I mean, everything already started to."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"

The young Weasley sighed, "I've not spoken properly to my mum for days! She doesn't have time for me anymore"

"She has got a lot on her plate at the moment" Draco offered, leaning against the couch in front of the fire.

"I know she has, but I just want her to know that I'm here for her- she's trying to be strong but I know she's breaking inside!"

Draco was silent for a moment, simply watching the young girl, before something finally dawned on him, "Just like you are?" Without being able to see her face, Draco summarised that she was wiping away stray tears from her face, from the way she pulled her forearm harshly across her face. "Your mother loves you, you know. She's just really trying to get things settled as soon as possible so there are not as many interruptions for you later."

"I just want her with me, if I'm being honest Mister Malfoy"

"Come with me then" he held out his hand signalling for Rose to follow him, before walking out of the library down the stairs and being stood outside the room Hermione was occupying.

"She's probably asleep"

Draco opened the door stepping through into the large room, "That she is, but I'm sure it'd be lovely for her to wake and find you here" he smiled a rare smile pushing Rose in the direction of the large bed. When the young Witch settled onto the bedspread Hermione sleepily turned, murmuring a quiet 'Malfoy?' under her breath, before passing back into the realm of her unconscious state once again.

Rose settled on top of the duvet, and Draco summoned a blanket, with a warming charm settled over it, and covered up the young Weasley, watching as it took all of three seconds for her to join her mother in the sleeping land. A smirk twitched at the side of his mouth as he observed the mother and daughter, before he vacated the room, to retire to his own room for the remainder of the night.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, short chapter, well very short chapter, this popped into my head, and I thought it was a lovely addition, to what I'm not sure. But I hope you all like it!**  
**Ta- tarrrr for now. And thanks again, especially to those that review.

Scorpio219 -x-


	25. Early Risers

Chapter 25: Early Risers  
_-Saturday-_

When Draco woke the next morning, he quickly made his way downstairs, intending to have a quick morning flight; he was up early enough that he could squeeze it in before he had to do his jobs of the day. So imagine his surprise to find Hermione milling about his kitchen, shoeless, with the shortest pair of shorts, and a baggy t-shirt over her top half, the shorts just poking out from underneath the large t-shirt.

He paused in the doorway, surveying the brunette, as she glided from the fridge pouring two glasses of orange juice, before replacing the juice to the fridge. Suddenly she spoke, "Imagine my surprise that as I opened my eyes this morning expecting the man I had confessed so much to last night to be lay there, to find he had seemingly disappeared, to be replaced by my daughter." Here she paused looking out of the window in front of her. "I'm more than aware I put you in a very delicate position last night, and I feel I have a lot to explain to you, will you allow me to?"

"I just want to make sure you are happy."

"I am." She insisted, turning to face him

"No you are not, you are not happy here, you are not happy anywhere, I can tell"

"I am happy," she sighed, "Or at least content."

Weighing up the options of mentioning Rose Draco thought about the outcome, she would either become upset, or angry, and he knew that he needed to do it sooner or later. "So how often have you seen your daughter recently?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "I see her every day, I live with her"

Draco shook his head, "No truly see her, speak to her? Ask how she is?" Hermione's mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out, "I heard the patter of footsteps echoing through the house last night, went to investigate, and was surprised to find you daughter sat in the freezing library attempting to start the hearth. I spoke to her, and I think you should too."

"What did she say to you?" Hermione asked intrigued.

"That's for her to tell you, not me."

"I have a lot of explaining to do today, don't I?"

Draco nodded walking towards the brunette, "We all just want to help, don't push us away" He had reached her and carefully ran his thumb along her jaw line, kissing the top of her head, as she deeply breathed in his scent. "Spend the day with Rose, spend it in the gardens here if you need to, she needs a friend"

Hermione nodded her head, "Thank you" she whispered grabbing the two glasses of juice.

"You're welcome Princess" and with that she was gone

Hermione leaned further back against the head rest of the bed, having placed the two glasses on the table next to the bed, looking forlornly at her daughter, before placing her hand on the crown of her head, running her fingers softly through the strawberry blonde hair she found there.

Rose had inherited much from her mother, including her unruly curls, and Hermione had noticed that as her daughter aged, her hair colour seemed to change from the rustic red, to a coppery red, to a blonder red, as if she was losing the vibrant ginger gene of her father. Looking closer at her daughter she noticed the freckles dusting across her nose and upper cheek, just like Hermione herself, and her father had, and the button shaped nose that Rose inherited from her grandmother.

"Mum?" a bleary eyed Rose asked as she cracked open her eyelids peering up at her mother.

"Hey Rosie" she leant over to grab one of the glasses, "I got you some fruit juice" she passed the glass over as her daughter sat back mirroring her mother position. "I was thinking, how about we hang out today? Just you and me, we'll do whatever you want, wherever you want."

Rose nodded, "Have you spoken to Mr Malfoy?" pursing her lips together in a tight line Hermione slowly nodded her head, "Did he tell you what I said?" at this question the brunette shook her head. "I want to be there for you mum- every step of the way."

Wrapping her right arm around her daughter's shoulders Hermione brought the red head closer to her chest, squeezing her shoulder slightly, "I know you are Rosie, I just needed to sort some things out on my own these last few days." There was a slow silence, "How about we go to get a dress for tomorrow, and then we spend the rest of the day soaking up the sun in the manor's garden?"

Rose nodded, "Mum, are we going to be spending the night here at Malfoy manor again?"

"Would you like to?"

Rose nodded once again, "I don't like grandmothers old house, there aren't enough people living in it, it feels creepy"

"I'll speak to Malfoy then, see if we can spend an extra night here. How are you, Scorpius and Amando getting on?"

"I don't know why dad said I should keep away from them, he made them sound like they were evil, but they've been nice to me... A bit snobbish on occasions but that's it really." She suddenly became really serious, "Scorpius said that I was going to end up in Slytherin, he was sure of it!" Her eyes widened, "You won't disinherit me if I end up in Slytherin will you mum?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed, "No. What makes you even think that? I will be proud no matter what Hogwart's House you end up in, and if you do end up in Slytherin, some of the smartest Wizards I know and knew were from that same house."

"Like who?"

"Draco, his parents, my old potions Professor and ex-headmaster Professor Snape. Amando's parents, Draco's aunt" here Hermione subconsciously rubbed at her arm, "They were all brilliant in their own distinct way, most have some compassion, take Teddy's grandmother, she was a Slytherin, and yet she sacrificed her family lifestyle for love."

"Mum..." Rose paused, unsure of whether to continue but quickly deciding she was too intrigued not to "How come you and Mr Malfoy never ended up together?"

* * *

**A/N: Here is where I'm going to stop; I just really wanted to write something to show I've not given up. I've got my writing bug back, so hopefully I'll be updating a lot more soon. **

**Please leave me your thoughts in a review.  
Scorpio219 -x-**


	26. Mother Daughter Time: Part I

Chapter 26: Mother Daughter Time

"How about we go shopping, get you a dress, and then I'll answer whatever questions you may have to ask?"

"Really?" Rose asked screwing her eyes up unsure on whether to believe her mother, however in hindsight her mother had never lied to her before, so why would she now? When Hermione nodded, Rose perked up, jumping out of bed, "Cool- I will hold you to that"

Laughing the older woman stood up; finishing the remainder of the orange juice she had in her hand, "Of that I have no doubt Rosie." She continued laughing as she walked to the door, "You have a shower, I'll go and get some breakfast sorted for you, and then when we're both done we'll go to Diagon Alley" Hermione left her daughter a smile still resting on her lips as she descended the stairs.

-1 hour 20 minutes later-

As soon as they were both ready they were walking down Diagon Alley in seconds, Hermione was glad they had made good time in leaving the Manor seeing as though it appeared not many Witches and Wizards were visiting the usually busy street. Meaning they were much less likely to be stopped by someone hounding them for an interview about some supposed sordid affair with Draco.

There first stop was to go to Pansy's Robes, and upon entering the owner was flicking through paperwork, glasses perched carefully on her nose, while a dark haired girl sat next to her flicking between the pages of a glossy version of Witch Weekly, reading intently the pages within.

Hermione politely coughed, understanding that it was all most second nature for Pansy to hear the bell of the door at this time of the year. The ex-Slytherin lifted her head, shocked to see the ex-Griffindor and mini-Hermione stood in front of her, "Granger..." she cautiously took the glasses perched at the end of her nose off, "How may I help you?"

Hermione rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders as she stood in front of her, "Actually, it's Rose, we need a dress for tomorrow" the brunette bit her lip slightly, "I know it's really short notice"

"That it is." Pansy's eyes narrowed, "However, I'm sure I can do something, what colour scheme were you thinking?"

"Anything really" Rose's meek voice answered.

"Violetta" Pansy turned towards her daughter, who seemed to be intently reading the paragraphs in front of her, but hadn't turned the pages in a while, suggesting she was in fact listening to the goings on in front of her. "Why don't you show young Rose is it?" The strawberry blonde girl nodded her head in silent agreement with Pansy. "... Around the selection of dresses- see if she sees anything that catches her eye?" Hermione went to follow the two young girls but was stopped by Pansy's hand on her arm, "Can we talk?"

The pair waited until their daughters were out of earshot, before Hermione turned expectedly towards Pansy, raising her eyebrow, "What did you wish to discuss?"

"A certain blond man"

Hermione rolled her eyes, of course Pansy would want to discuss Draco, "Look Pansy, I don't wish to sound rude, but I have nothing to say about it, only that nothing is going on."

"I know." Pansy admitted, "Trust me I know not to pry where Draco is concerned. However, I just want you to know, I've told him I'll help him, well you really, with whatever it is. But I just ask that you don't hurt him"

It was Hermione's turn to furrow her eyebrows, "I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that"

"He's said there is nothing intimate going on between you both, at least not yet, I just ask that if anything does happen, you give him fair warning of what you want. He won't take advantage of you, but I don't know you, so I can only say, I hope you don't take advantage of him."

"I-" Hermione was dumbstruck on what to say, "I'll never intend to hurt Ma- Draco, I can't predict the future though. He's been really kind to me, and I'm not overly used to it, from any man to be frank, so I'm not sure how to react." It was then as if a light bulb went off in her head that Hermione realised something, if she wanted to talk to anyone about what was going on Pansy was the perfect person. "Pansy, can I ask you something?" The dark haired girl turned her head from looking towards the young girls, nodding her head. "What would you do if you were in my position?"

The other woman pursed her lips, "That depends what position you are in exactly."

Hermione's chin dropped to her chest, as she heaved a heavy breath, "I'd rather you didn't tell Draco what I'm about to tell you," Pansy nodded her understanding, "Well you see, I've become accustomed shall we say, to seeing him every day, the little things he does, how he touches my arm when he's offering me support, how he rubs little circles on my hand as we talk. Just him being him, and I'm scared of loosing that."

"Why would you lose that?"

Hermione shrugged, she hated showing weaknesses but she needed to air them, "I don't want to be another passing fancy to someone"

"I'm sure to Draco your more than that"

"It's selfish of me, but I'd rather not have to venture to find out."

"That's not very Gryffindor like-" the rest of Pansy's sentence was cut off as low and behold the man in question waltzed with that Malfoy swagger into the building. His head jerking back slightly at seeing who Pansy was talking to, as he slowly blinked, looking from one woman to the other, wondering what was going on.

"Pans, Gr- Hermione" He nodded his head slightly in greeting to both before seating himself in a plush armchair waiting until it was his turn to be seen to by the owner. He didn't have to wait long before his old school friend came sashaying up to him, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek, before his eyes flickered to Hermione who was stood talking with the elder of the Zabini children and her own daughter. "What was that about?"

"We were talking about girl stuff, shoes to match the dress you gave her to be specific, and she's come in looking for a dress for Rose for tomorrow." Pansy stated aloofly, waving her hand in a dismissive manner. "What can I do for you Drake?"

He shook his head turning from staring at Hermione, "Do you have the prototype of the designs Mother brought in the other day?"

Pansy nodded as she retrieved a key from behind the desk, "Rosemary finished with it yesterday," she beckoned him to follow her with a flinch of the head before heading back to the hidden room just next to the changing rooms, bypassing Hermione, Rose and Violetta as they went.

As Pansy parted the hanging dresses hiding the door, Rose nudged her mother, "Look, it's like the entrance to Narnia!" causing Hermione to laugh.

When Pansy reappeared out of the hideout she held what looked like a muggle suit bag, "Try it on" she insisted of her blond friend, "You've got a willing audience to give their opinions"

Draco narrowed his eyes, but Rose spoke before he could say anything, "Is that the new Puddlemere kit for next season?" she asked intuitively looking between him and the bag.

He nodded, "I believe it is. Are you a Quidditch fan?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically, "Da-" she rubbed her neck uncomfortably, "Dad always tried to get me to support Chudley Cannons, but everyone knows, Puddlemere will win the championship this year"

The blond smirked, "Do you play Rose?"

The young girl looked between her mum and the blond, "Mum says it's too dangerous, so I'm not supposed to, she never trusted," she stopped herself, "No one has ever been allowed to teach me, she says I'm too young."

"Your mother knows it's not too dangerous, perhaps she would allow me to teach you?" Both himself and Rose looked expectedly towards Hermione, "She after all knows I'm not a bad flyer or teacher, don't you Hermione?"

-Back at Hogwarts (1999)-

_Draco removed the scarf that he'd blindfolded Hermione's eyes with, which on seeing what was in front of her she shook her head violently, eyes widening like saucers._

"_Draco seriously I don't want to learn to fly"_

"_We agreed, you taught me how to cook at least a half decent meal, and I would teach you something, and then we'd show each other a dance or two, I'd show you the true Wizarding Waltz, and you show me what you called Latin dance you were doing the other day in the common room."_

_Hermione sighed, folding her arms over her chest, "Honestly I don't mind teaching you how to dance, or to not give yourself food poisoning, but I would just rather not learn to ride a broom."_

"_You promised you'd let me teach you something, my decision, as a thank you"_

_She adamantly shook her head, "I don't need to be thanked it was my pleasure"_

"_Do you just not trust me?" he questioned seriously arching his eyebrow at her in question_

"_Draco, I-" she breathed heavily through her nose, "I do trust you" she sighed, "I'm just not comfortable in the air"_

"_I'll keep you safe, I'll hold onto you, make sure nothing happens"_

"_You're not going to let this drop are you?"He shook his head, "Fine! I'm not happy about this, but if it keeps you from nagging me I'll accept, but as soon as I say I want to go back down to the ground we do, okay?" she was definitely not having some of her own terms laid out if she was going to do this._

"_Whatever you say Princess" his right arm hovered over the broom that lay on the ground, while his left reached out to Hermione, as her dainty hand touched his the broom sprang to life into his other hand, he carefully straddled the broom so one leg was in each side of the piece of wood, before gently tugging Hermione in his direction. He watched as she paused, taking a huge breath for courage before her right leg came into contact with his left leg. "Now simply step to straddle the broom, like you would a man."_

_He knew his comment would earn his a hardy slap on the chest, which she didn't deny him, but it at least made the tenseness that was wracking her body to disperse. "Don't make comments like that"_

_Draco simply nodded his head, "I'll try not to, if you let the tension leave your body"_

"_I'll try" she shot back, "But I'm not in my comfort zone"_

"_You like to be in control" it was a as much a statement as it was a question, which caused her to go red, "I don't mean like that." He muttered quickly realising his slight innuendo too late. "Place your hand just below mine on the broom handle" she did as he bade; now shaking ever so slightly. The shaking stopped as Draco's hand rested gently over hers, "I've got you remember" he whispered in her ear before gently tilting her hand forward so the broom rested in mid-air. "Now slowly sit down" expecting to fall to the floor Hermione cautiously started squatting and was surprised to find the broom much closer than she thought, so she was now sitting on it, her feet still on the floor. "Were going to rise in a minute, but I need you to do this." She nodded concentrating on what Draco was saying and keeping her breathing in a regular rhythm._

"_What do I need to do?" she queried softly._

"_Grab the handle with both hands firmly, but not too tightly that you freeze up, just enough so you feel comfortable to hold on" she nodded shifting her other hand to grab the handle. "After three I want you to gently push off from the ground" She sucked in a shocked breath, "You can do it" he whispered against the shell of her ear, "One, two, three" Hermione did exactly as he asked, and was shocked to feel her feet connect harshly with the floor her eyes screwing shut as she felt herself rise, and her feet unable to touch the floor as she tried to reach for the grounds safety._

"_Malfoy, I don't think I can do this" she whispered her eyes still closed tightly._

"_You've done it, open your eyes" she shook her head_

_Draco removed his hand from the handle and gently placed it on her stomach, watched as she sucked in a lung full of breath at his touch before her eyes carefully opened. She was surprised to find herself only just off the ground; Draco's feet she noticed as she peered down were still touching the floor. "All you needed to do was believe you could do it" he pressed on her abdomen slightly before saying, "Shall we go higher?"..._

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_**A/N: **_There we go another chapter, two in a week, I'm spoiling you. Please if you are reading this you must have read the chapter, so let me know your thoughts in a review, anonymous reviews are accepted as well :) Scorpio219 -x-_  
_


	27. Mother Daughter Time: Part II

Chapter 27: Mother Daughter Time Part II_  
_

_-Back in the present-_

Hermione shook her head smiling as she replayed the 'surprise' he had given her part way through their final year. "If you are going to insist that you want to learn to ride a broom, I'm sure Malfoy might as well put his teaching to the test. Ginny was going on about how good you'd be at it"

"You were my first student," he acknowledged, "Surely like mother like daughter I could teach her just as well." He nodded towards Rose, "I'm sure you would enjoy that wouldn't you Rose?"

The young girl nodded her head enthusiastically, "Would you Mr Malfoy?"

Draco nodded "I'll speak to your mother about it, while you go and try that dress on" he pointed to the dress Violetta had in her hand; Rose nodded, bounding off in the direction of the changing room.

When Rose had disappeared from sight, Pansy spoke; "You can try that on as well Draco," before excusing herself and her daughter giving Hermione and Draco some alone time.

"I'd like to talk tonight- when Rose has gone to bed" Hermione started

"I have no doubt you do"

"Also, she wishes to stay at the Manor, for the foreseeable future I suspect, Rose that is"

"And you do not?" he queried quietly, when she didn't give him an answer he sighed, running his hands through his blond locks. "I have already said you can stay at the manor for as long as you want" he sighed again, licking his drying lips before speaking, "I wish you would talk to me properly"

"I-" Hermione paused, "I just need time to think, that's all" Draco opened his mouth to speak but came to the realisation that he couldn't say anything productive to aid her. "I never thought I would have to deal with..." she signalled between them both "This". He nodded his head in agreement, taking a step closer to Hermione to show some sign of comfort but a small voice sounded from the changing room, so he just reached a hand to her shoulder squeezing it before walking into one of the remaining rooms to try on the uniform he still held in his hand.

_-Mid afternoon: Malfoy Manor-_

Having gotten a rather perfect dress for Rose, and taken a trip to Weasley Wizard Wheezes for a few treats from Rose's Uncle, both she and her mother were enjoying the sunrays in the expansive gardens of the Manor.

"Mum?" Rose questioned suddenly

"Hmm?" Hermione replied, placing the book she had been reading page down onto her chest as she turned her head towards her daughter.

"Did you manage to ask Mr Malfoy if we can spend the night here?"

"I did, he said we can stay for as long as we want to" Rose nodded her head going quiet again. "Perhaps while we're here you can have those flying lessons?

"That would be nice..." she trailed again, "Mum you said you'd answer my question from earlier"

Hermione nodded, "That I did..." she rubbed the back of her neck, "You wanted to know why me and Malfoy weren't together?" Rose nodded. "When we were in our final year, after the battle of Hogwarts" having read Hogwarts a History numerous times, the young girl knew all about what had transpired before her conception, and how both her parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles had been involved. "We were the head boy and head girl, we made a silent agreement to be amicable, we kept to ourselves. We spoke more and more, and then one day he wasn't there, he had a trial for his crimes, hadn't mentioned it to me."

_-1999-_

_Letting the steam from the heads bathroom evaporate into her chambers Hermione stepped out of the room, a red towel wrapped tightly around her chest, ending just at the knee, and a small white towel in her hands drying the tips of her locks. Though it was easier to magic the hair dry Hermione preferred the Muggle way, as it gave her a long time to think- not that she needed time to think, she seemed to be constantly thinking recently, more and more about a certain blond companion. _

_Speaking of whom, she shouted through the bathroom, "Malfoy, the showers free when you want to use it." When she got no reply she shouted again, "Malfoy?" Curious as to why he wasn't replying, she walked around to his door knocking loudly but still not getting a reply. She carefully opened the door to find his bed made as if he hadn't slept in it, while his broom was still propped up next to the door._

_Unsure of where he could have gone, their lessons didn't start for a while from now, and Hermione knew that he had exactly the same lessons as her for today was Wednesday the day they spent most of the day together, except their free period towards the end of the day. So the question was where was he? _

_When he wasn't in the Great Hall for breakfast, and hadn't shown up for the double Potions first thing she began to worry, and made the effort to go to see the Headmistress to see if she knew where her blond counterpart may have disappeared to. When Hermione got to McGonagall's office she informed Hermione that Draco was having his war crimes tribunal that day, expressing her shock that he hadn't informed her himself. Hermione was granted permission on asking to go to the tribunal, and was accompanied by Minerva McGonagall herself to the Ministry of Magic._

_-Now-_

"Whatever you hear about me and Malfoy back then, or even now, isn't true, I didn't go to his tribunal because we had romantic liaison, I did it because for me he had repented, he had told me he was sorry, and I believed him..."

-1999-

"_Miss Granger will you cease your run at once" Professor McGonagall's voice sounded at the side of Hermione as she was running down the corridors of the Ministry. Hermione slowed glancing at the silver ethereal of a Tabby cat running at her side, before slowing to a stop. After a few moments the real Professor was at her side, "It is not wise to go barging into this situation half-mast. You need to think about this"_

"_I can't let him go down for anything, I know he's learnt, I know he's sorry- I owe him my life" she whispered the final part as they began walking further down the corridor stopping in front of a set of double doors, standing guard of the door were two Aurors. And as Hermione attempted to walk through the doors they stepped in the way. "I need to get in there"_

"_I'm sorry miss but it's a closed meeting" one of the men wearing his hair in a pony tail replied._

"_Do you know who I am?" Hermione asked exasperated, "I'm here to give evidence"_

_The man once again shook his head, "I know am aware of who you are Miss Granger, but I'm sorry I'm under strict instructions"_

"_Williamson, Proudfoot, let her in" the stern Professors voice sounded from behind Hermione, as the brunette stepped out of her way, so that the two Auror's could see their old Professor._

"_Professor, we would do, but we are under strict instructions from Kingsley himself"_

"_I revoke that instruction," a Lynx appeared between McGonagall and the two middle-aged Aurors, "Let Miss Granger into the Wizengamot."_

_Without so much of a second word they opened the door, Hermione gave her thanks to the Lynx to give back to the Minister for Magic before she entered the room, turning back to look at her Professor as she hadn't stepped forward. "I can't go with you Miss Granger, but make me proud" she smiled a smile that caused the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes to crinkle together._

_Taking a deep breath, Hermione entered the room, noting the hush that befell within as her footsteps echoed through the large chamber. Brushing some imaginary dust from her jumper she rounded the corner, taking in who was present, and just as her eyes landed on her blond classmate Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke from a chair high in the seats around the room. "Miss Granger, you are here to give evidence in the defence of one of the Malfoy's are you?"_

_Hermione nodded, "Not just one, I am also speaking on behalf of Harry James Potter" she lifted her chin as some form of confidence, though she wasn't feeling it. "May I speak Sir?" she questioned, sneaking a glance at Draco who was staring intently at her. "What I say here in this room today isn't common knowledge. I have spoken to Harry countless times, we assumed it would be public knowledge when the Malfoy's were having their trial, but alas it appears the Wizengamot thought it would be best to keep it otherwise. And have thus been planning to attend this meeting for a while." She paused rubbing her hands in an attempt to calm her nerves, "As you already know Minister Harry is away for training so I hope you will accept my word for everything I have to say."_

_There were a few mumbles around the room, before a hammer on the table stopped any discussions. Though the pause allowed Hermione to truly take in the Malfoy's sat side by side, Draco in a black Wizarding robe, his dishevelled hair having had hands run through it numerous times, as it appeared to become slightly slicked back. Lucius held his wife's hand precariously in his as she was staring intently at Hermione, while the elder Malfoy man was looking at Kingsley. _

"_What do you wish to tell the Wizengamot today Miss Granger?"_

_Hermione glanced at Kingsley and a few of the members sat either side of him, before she stared at Draco, wetting her lips lightly before she began speaking. "I've come to tell the Wizengamot how the Malfoy family saved my life and the life of my best friends" she spoke with the confidence she had lacked for the past few months. "My views on why they did what they did, how I think the war has changed them, just like everyone else, and why I think, they deserve a second chance."_

_-Present Day-_

"That day changed something between us" Hermione retold

"What happened, in the trial?" Rose asked intrigued.

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**A/N: **Well I'm evil enough to end it just there, you'll have to wait to find out what happened at the trial, or maybe I'll just go back to the present. You don't need to know what was said in the trial do you? Thanks for all those that reviewed the last two chapters, and please review this chapter to. Until next time; Scorpio219


	28. Why we are, what we are

Chapter 28: Why We Are, What We Are

"I told them exactly what they needed to know..."

_-1999-_

"_April last year, myself Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had been searching for the Horucruxes, or the living souls of Lord Voldemort, we were captured by a group of Snatchers and we were taken to Malfoy Manor, Draco was asked by his father to identify us, but he told them he couldn't be sure... Draco gave us time, we could have been killed, Voldemort could have been called had he not stalled them." Hermione paused looking around the room again, "You all know about when they thought Harry was dead, and it was Mrs Malfoy who told them he was indeed dead- though she knew he was not. Are either actions that of a family that should be destined to be condemned to a life in Azkhaban?" Hermione shook her head. "Over the last few months myself and Draco have been head boy and head girl at Hogwarts, we've spoke about various things, and he's been a true friend to me, who just like myself was a young boy surrounded by a war he was unable to get out of. He's helped me overcome some personal issues" she pulled back the sleeve of her jumper, "I have constant reminder of what this war has done to people, how I've been branded, the scars of war- and every single time I've slipped into a near depression that boy, no that man sat right there has been with me!" she shouted the final part pointing to Draco, who looked suddenly sad. _

"_It's my belief that they did what they did, because they saw no other way out, except may be through death. Lucius while he may have believed in the ideals, I don't feel he is all a Death Eater stands for. While I was captured Fenrir tried to bite me, mark me, claim him as his mate- but Mr Malfoy stopped him. May be not directly, but I thank him none the less, many things could have happened to me, worse things than what did during my capture. Both Mr and Mrs Malfoy from my experience this past few months care only about one thing- their family, I don't think they should be condemned for that." Unsure of herself Hermione looked around, "Minister, that's all I have to say" she shrugged her shoulders plucking of some of the cotton balls on her school jumper._

"_You can sit down then Miss Granger"_

_-Present Day-_

"The rest of the trial went by without so much of a hiccup"

"What did he have to say about you going?"

"He wasn't too impressed really" Hermione smiled at the memory

_-1999-_

_Hermione was walking back through the Ministry side by side with the Hogwarts Headmistress on their way to the hearths located in the atrium. Just ahead leaning against one was Draco himself, "Mr Malfoy, will you be accompanying us back to Hogwarts?"_

_Draco nodded, causing his lengthening hair to fall into his eyes, "Kingsley says I'm under strict instructions to remain at Hogwarts until the verdict- they want to hear from Potter himself before they make their decision."McGonagall's reply was to nod her head once before taking a sharp turn into one of the hearth's shouting her destination as she threw the powder onto the ground. Knowing the head boy and girl would follow soon after._

_When the trio were back in the Headmistress' office in the Hogwarts grounds, the elder spoke, "Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy feel free to take the rest of the day off classes- get some rest, and be ready to get back into it tomorrow" she turned to look at the Phoenix on the perch next to her desk, as the two students made their way to the door._

"_Mr Malfoy, do you mind if we have a quick chat?" an gruff voice sounded from behind the headmistress' desk, and Draco turned to see the portrait of both Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore waiting patiently in their frames. Hermione left the ex-headmasters to their business as she exited the spiral staircase making her way swiftly across to the head dormitories._

_When Draco had finally made it back to their common room it was to find Hermione sat on the couch waiting for him, a book sitting in her lap, wearing a pair of loose fitting joggers, and a vest. Her eyes stopped scanning the book when he entered, but she waited patiently for him to say something, not lifting her eyes to look him directly in his as she had done at the trial._

_After a few awkward moments of him being stood just in from the now closed portrait door he sighed, running a hand through his hair, as he began moving his outer robe, hanging it up on a coat rack she had conjured in their first week of living in the heads dorm. "You didn't have to do that" he finally said as he stepped closer to her._

"_I know" was her quick reply as her gaze flickered from the book, to him, to the dancing flame of the hearth._

"_I didn't expect you to" he sighed, breathing heavily through his nose, "That's not what I'd been getting at for the last few months"_

"_I know" again she just gave a short reply._

"_Thank you" he finally acknowledged, "It means a lot" as she went to speak again, he cut her off, "But by Merlin if you say 'I know' one more time..." he left the empty threat hanging in the air._

"_What more do you want me to say Malfoy? It's pretty obvious that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about the trial." She snapped the book closed at the end of her sentence, making to stand shortly after._

_Draco reached forward grabbing her hand before she could go anywhere, "It wasn't about trusting you, I just didn't want to involve you."_

"_It didn't feel like that" she whispered slowly, glancing from his hand that had a hold of her wrist to follow the appendage up to his face._

"_I didn't want you to have to say what you did in there- I was ready to get whatever was coming my way" he admitted, letting go of her hand. "But I really appreciated the fact that you turned up, as did my family"_

"_No one deserves to go to Azkaban, we've all been through a lot, I just want to put the past behind us, none of this blood supremacy bullshit"_

_Draco slowly nodded his head, stepping into her bubble of personal space, running his right hand from her left hand, up her arm to cup her jaw, before he slowly leant forward pressing a chaste kiss to her lips, shocking Hermione in the process. And just as she was going to reciprocate he pulled back rested his forehead against hers, whispering three little words "So do I" before he was walking away to his bedroom._

_-Present day-_

"How come you didn't end up together?"

"I wouldn't have had you had we been together," Hermione pointed out to which Rose nodded.

For someone so young Rose seemed to have a much higher degree of understanding than anyone her age, or even some adults, she knew that had her mother been with Draco she wouldn't have been born, but perhaps, "You'd have been a lot happier"

Hermione shook her head, "I don't regret anything Rosie, especially you, everything happens for a reason, Malfoy did what he needed to do, he did his family duty, I couldn't stand in the way of that, and he never knew any of my feelings, and I didn't know his. We were a big taboo- had our past been different who knows what could have happened? After all our past are why we are, who we are"

"Should my ears be burning?" The Malfoy man in question took that moment to appear behind the two Granger women- after all in his mind Hermione had never been a Weasley and after meeting her daughter he believed she didn't really suit the family name either.

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**A/N: There we have it, a sneaky look at the past, hopefully you all enjoyed, feel free to leave me your thoughts in a review. I'm sorry to say my updates will be a bit slower it's back to University time for me now, but I'll try and update. Scorpio219 -x-**


	29. You Win Some

Chapter 29: You win some

Hermione refused to look at the blond as he stepped closer to herself and her daughter, who were lounging in the garden- more out of self preservation, and the fact that she was lost in thought wondering if he had heard her confession.

Only when she recognised that he had spoken again did she move, turning to face him a questioning eyebrow lifted, "Sorry Malfoy, what was that?"

He smirk, "I was just saying, the house elves have informed me dinner will be served any moment now, and as your staying, I wondered if you will walk with me to the dining room." Rose nodded her head thoroughly, seemingly having gotten over the conversation they'd been previously having, before she was dashing off in the direction of the large manor. Draco held back waiting until Hermione was walking next to him, "What were you talking about?"

Pausing monetarily Hermione regarded the blond, "You didn't hear?"

He shrugged, "Snippets, but I don't assume where you are concerned"

She smiled, taking in a deep breath, "She asked why we aren't together"

Draco nodded, "She's very insightful isn't she?" Hermione nodded, biting innocently on her lip, as she looked towards where her daughter had disappeared. "If only you knew how much that used to drive me wild"

She turned to Draco furrowing her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"When you're thinking about things you chew on your lip"

She stopped her action muttering "Sorry"

"No, no, don't be." He trailed slightly, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing" she sighed before picking up her speed, "I'm going to get ready for dinner" and with that she was gone.

-DMHG-

_11.30pm Saturday Night_

The hearth was blaring alight in the library, Hermione sat comfortably on the settee in front of the flames her legs tucked underneath her body, watching the spectacle of the embers. She'd forgone picking up a tomb to read, though the longer she waited the more she wished she had picked one up. Draco had excused himself after dinner to attend the poker match Blaise had successfully managed to organise, and Hermione waited patiently for their discussion dreading the outcome before it had even begun.

The door creaked open and then closed causing Hermione to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Draco made his way through the well appointed library before sitting on the other end of the settee, resting his head in his hands while his elbows rested on his trouser covered knees, his eyes settled on the flames mirroring exactly what Hermione had been doing for the past half an hour. He didn't say anything to the brunette, unsure of what exactly he could say, so it was her that was the first to act, leaning forward she rested her hand on the middle of his back- between the shoulder blades, feeling the muscles shift as he started at her touch.

"I didn't think you'd still be awake" he admitted into the quiet room.

"Hmm," she replied, "We probably shouldn't be, you have an important game tomorrow- but as is, I know I won't be able to sleep"

He nodded, completely at a loss as to what to say, "How was the poker match?" she queried saving him from the silence.

"It was good"

There was a few minutes of a pause before she asked the inevitable, "Was he there?"

She could she Draco's form nod his head, "He was."

Hermione nodded at the information, "What did you do today?"

It was the most awkward conversation they had had, both making it apparent they had a lot on their mind. "After getting the prototype, I met with Harry Ardenbrook again, he advised me to make a purchase of Weasley Wizard Wheezes shares, said you'd be able to help"

"Listen Draco, I-" she cut herself off unable to think and put what she really wanted to say into words.

Draco finally turned towards her, "Rose needed her mother, and I would have just gotten in the way, and made things awkward"

"I understand that" she relented, "It just stung that's all, it was like a rebuff"

"It was not, I can assure you whole heartedly it was not"

She sighed, "It didn't feel that way, sometimes, I don't know whether I'm coming or going with you"

"You tell me nothing can happen between us, and then you kiss me, ask me to spend the night with you, and you don't know if your coming or going with me?" he shook his head dispersing the anger that was rising.

"That was wrong of me I know" she bowed her head in slight shame, "I just needed something tangible"

Draco nodded leaning forward to pull a velvet bag from his pocket, as he did so he called a house elf for a bottle of Firewhiskey and two tumblers, only after the alcohol had been delivered and the elf left the pair of them alone did Draco toss the velvet bag towards Hermione, rising soon after a full tumbler in his hand.

Opening the leather strap on the bag Hermione peered in at the contents, "I don't understand"

"What is there to get. They are yours"

Something seemed to click, "Are these the winnings from tonight?"

"Some" Draco walked towards the window, "The rest is downstairs in the vault"

"Why are you giving me the winnings?"

"It's yours"

"I don't understand" Hermione didn't often get perplexed in life, but more often than not if she did it was because of the blond man occupying the room with her.

"Let's just say tonight was a very Slytherin affair, unbeknownst to your ex. Everyone was up for a bit of scheming, and luckily Daphne is still as good at charms as you tutored her to be- he didn't know it was us, which made it even more fun."

"You disguised yourselves?" Hermione was looking intently at the blond as he stood staring out of the window into the dark night.

Draco nodded as he took a sip of his drink, "Yes. Terence often plays poker with _him_, said he loves to splash his cash, so Blaise, set up a game with Terence, Theo and some of the Quidditch guys. _He _didn't even bat an eye lid at some unknown newcomers- just mouthed off about not being able to wait to take all our galleons off of us." Here the blond gave a harsh bark of a laugh, "If only he knew it was a trap, the only way he was going out with any money was if he beat everyone there."

"A trap?" Hermione repeated

Draco nodded again, "Yeah, I explained the point of the match to everyone else, they got back whatever they put in, but whatever _he_ lost wasn't theirs to keep, it came back to you"

"You said my name?"

"Terence was in because Daph wanted him to accept the conditions, Blaise and Theo well they were up for it Blaise obviously knows, Theo he's smart he reads the newspapers. And the rest of the guys they just hate your ex, there was no need to bring you into it."

She nodded standing up from the settee, "So..."

"Thirty-thousand" just as she went to speak again he cut her off, "Yes you can take it."

"He has access to my Gringott's accounts that would just be counterproductive"

"However, as you are Rose's legal guardian, he doesn't have access to hers"

"Rosie doesn't have an account that would be why"

"As of tomorrow morning Rose will have a Gringotts account with an opening balance of thirty thousand galleons"

Hermione stepped closer to Draco, "You didn't have to do that you know" she shook her head as she watched him perch himself on the window sill, "You've already done too much"

"It's the least I could do"

"I've told you, you don't owe me, you never did"

"I was thinking about what you told me, about how you just accepted me and Astoria. And I'm sorry, I never realised what was happening between us, and what effect my impending nuptials would have on you." He reached out for her left arm, "I thought this" he ran his finger down the hidden scar on her forearm, "Would prevent you from feeling the same way about me as I did about you." He trailed his finger up her arm to her neck, tracing the very thin line present across her neck, one scar she never attempted to hide since the day she had received it. However as soon as his digit touched the skin her hand was there to knock it away, causing him to look into her eyes, "I-" he didn't know quite what to say, shocked by her reaction.

Hermione for her part simply shook her head, "I'm not used to anyone touching me there" she admitted quietly. Draco nodded as his hand began retreating to his lap, "Listen Draco, I have something to explain to you, something which you may not have realised earlier. But I feel I need to clarify" He nodded once again for her to continue, and furrowed his brow as he saw her swallow heavily, "I'm not some sexually active wife, who got and gave it every time one of us felt the need. When I said I'd only had sex with Ronald once I meant it"

"You don't need to divulge your sex life with your ex to me"

"You need to know this. That one time Rose was conceived. The second time it wasn't sex, it wasn't even love making, it was shagging plain and simple- we both needed it, we were both there, it was convenient. And low and behold the two times we had sex were the two times I got pregnant." Here she sighed, looking intently over the blond's shoulder, "So anything you have, and will ever read about me and my sex life is greatly over-exaggerated, I've slept with one man, and twice at that. I've never made love to anyone." She abruptly stopped, and Draco took that opportunity to grab her hand and pull her so that her body was situated between his legs, his neck lifted his head so they were on level together, and she gently interlocked their fingers together.

Draco kissed a slow line up the length of her neck, before kissing along her jaw line, placing a single kiss on her lips before pulling away.

"I feel I should reciprocate"

Hermione shook her head as a negative, "There's no need, I just needed to explain that to you"

"Thank you." He acknowledged, "But I think it's only fair for me to tell you my 'stats' as Blaise calls them. Well you see..."

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**A/N: **There we have chapter 29, hope you enjoyed, please review. Oh and what does everyone think Draco's stats are going to be?  
Thanks Scorpio219 -x-


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30:

Hermione gently placed a free hand onto the blond's chest, "Really, you don't need to"

Draco nodded, "I know I don't but I don't wish to keep anything from you, if anything is to happen, I want to be truthful from the onset," he paused absentmindedly drawing a pattern on the hand she had rested on his chest, as he kept his larger paw over hers. "I know you detest liars." He paused taking a deep breath bringing his eye sight back from his hand resting over hers, to her own brown gaze, "Most of what you have ever read about me is true, some people have claimed to have had sex with me, some of those have, but the majority have not. I was completely monogamous in my relationship to Astoria, and have been discreet since her death."

The final portion of the sentence caused Hermione to pull her hand away slowly, biting her lip hesitantly, which in turn caused Draco to stop his speech as he assessed her mannerisms. "What are you thinking?" She shook her head in reply, dropping her gaze ever so slightly to his chin. And as Draco tilted his head more, she followed his chin, stopping only as his fingers softly held her chin, "Look at me" she shook her head again, an internal battle waging in her mind as she tried to stop any show of emotion on her face. "Tell me" he softly commanded, "Did I say something wrong?"

Scraping every last piece of her pride, strength and dignity she could find, Hermione turned to face him, "How often?" she didn't let a single emotion show through on her face as she asked the two worded question.

"How often what?" Draco asked confused.

"How often do you rendezvous with these girls?" she paused before saying quietly, "You said you wouldn't lie to me"

Rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort he answered, "Monthly? Sometimes weekly, or more often depending upon the social calendar."

"How often is more than once a week?"

"Two or three times a week?" He relented uncertain as to the path the questions were taking.

Hermione processed the statement, making a few calculations in her head, "And this week?" There was a second of static pause, "What number was Katie? Did I interrupt the pair of you?" While Hermione was unrelenting in her barrage of questions the blond could detect a hint of hesitancy, as if she was scared of the answer "Because I didn't give it, did you get it elsewhere?"

"I- NO"

"Are you sure, as you like to tell me, you're the most eligible bachelor in the country, may be even the Wizarding World, it wouldn't be hard to find someone to tickle your fancy"

"You are not listening to me!" he huffed back undignified. "Why would I?" He shook his head, "Is that what you think of me?" Draco was having a hard time sorting his thoughts, causing him to have the onslaught of a developing migraine- though whether that was a combination of both the alcohol he had consumed and/ or the questions he didn't know.

He stood up from the sill he had been sat staggering slightly, before stalking away from the brunette who was muddling his thoughts up, "When you decide to listen to me, find me" and with that he was gone from the room, the velvet bag the only reminder he had been there at all- except the tumbler of firewhiskey.

-Sunday morning-

Needless to say, Hermione and Draco didn't speak of their argument that night, nor the morning after, in fact they did not speak at all- when Narcissa and a reluctant Lucius came to collect Hermione and Rose to go to the Quidditch, the former was dubious of attending, and she had a niggle of a feeling that she needed to speak to Draco.

When they arrived at the stadium her daughter seemed content to chat with the other children present, leaving Hermione to stand to one side, one Gryffindor in a sea of Slytherins that was until she was noticed by Daphne as she appeared with two younger, clearly Quidditch enthusiastic boys in toe.

Daphne made her way towards Hermione, her head to toe Puddlemere fan boys stayed back next to the still attractive, if slightly older Wizard who the brunette recognised as Terence Higgs, who was himself holding a baby girl in his arms.

"Hermione?" Daphne beamed, pushing her glasses to rest more at the top of her nose, "It's been too long"

Hermione nodded mirroring the other woman's smile, "It's not been that long Daphne, we saw each other this time last year"

They quickly embraced, before the ex-Slytherin shrugged her shoulders, "A lot can happen in a year" the smile slowly slid off Daphne's face, "How are you?"

A watery smile took form on Hermione's face as she glanced fondly at Rose chatting with James Potter who had appeared out of thin-air, "I'm okay, I've got Rose and that's all that matters" she looked back at Daphne, "And thank you, Dra- Malfoy told me what you did for us, the pair of you," she signalled towards Terence.

"He didn't take much persuasion, your ex does not have a good rapport with many of us, actually- I'm not sure any of us like him." Daphne summed the mutual Slytherin hatred of Ronald Weasley up forgoing the sugar coating. "How's Draco anyway?"

Hermione flinched ever so slightly, "He is good; at least I think he is." Daphne raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow behind her glasses, "We had a slight disagreement, or should I say over reaction on my account, he left frazzled."

"You are still staying with him, are you not?"

"As awkward as it is, yes. Rose doesn't like staying at my parent's old house; she actually asked to remain with Draco and his parents at the Manor. And where my daughter goes, I go."

Daphne thought for a moment, before choosing her words carefully, "Perhaps you should go speak to him? You know how flummoxed he can get, and he's much worse when it's an argument with you," the darker haired woman smiled again, "And my boys really want a Puddlemere win today" she added as an afterthought in an attempt to lighten the mood. When Hermione shyly nodded her agreement, Daphne said, "Want me to come with you?"

"Do you mind? I need to think about what I'm going to say, and I don't wish to get lost while I'm thinking"

Daphne's reply was to call Terence, "Terry, me and Hermione are going to take a stroll, we'll be back in a little while. Archie, Samuel, stay out of trouble," she shouted to her Son's as they curiously peered out of the glass windows of the box everyone had gathered in.

It didn't take the former Hogwart's students that long to reach the changing rooms designated to each of the teams, in particular the home locker room hosting the Puddlemere team, and when Hermione didn't opt to knock on the door, Daphne did it for her.

Fourteen seconds later and a raven haired man answered the door; "Mrs Higgs," he answered surprised "Terry's not playing today" he summarised upon seeing who was at the door.

"We're actually here to see Draco, Lucas" only then did the man notice Hermione's presence.

He turned from the pair closing the door slightly as he shouted into the room, "Hey Malfoy you've got two hot ladies at the door looking for you" the statement caused a few heads to turn and attempt to peer out of the open door at who was there.

Draco appeared a few moments later his Quidditch pants already on and his jersey in his hand as he towelled his hair of any excess water. Daphne quickly excused herself as she saw Pansy walking towards her, mouthing something about Blaise, with a confused expression on her face.

"You better come in" Draco held the door open for Hermione before leading her towards the coaches room, a room already occupied by Blaise who dutifully stood when Hermione entered.

"I just need you to sign here mate" Blaise said 'x-ing' the spot in which he needed Draco's signature. "It should be finalised tomorrow, I'd say afternoon so people have enough time to get over possible hangovers"

Draco smirked, as he signed the document "Thanks again Blaise, now why don't you go to your seats, I'm sure I saw a less than impressed Pansy stalking down the corridor coming this way"

Blaise winced, "Damn, I left her a note explaining what I was doing; she'll be upset I've not mentioned it before." Draco laughed lightly reaching over to shake his friends hand, "I'll see you after the match hopefully, winners medal and all- good luck mate"

Whether Blaise meant good luck in the game or with the brunette witch who had stayed unusually quiet during their exchange, Draco wasn't sure, just like he was unsure how this conversation was about to go.

Upon Blaise's exit Draco sat down in the seat on the far side of the desk, watching Hermione intently, as she bit her lip with enough force that he was shocked that blood wasn't oozing down her chin. He didn't say anything as he signalled for her to take the seat opposite him as she glanced his way.

"Listen Draco, I'm sor-"

"You know, I had expected to see you before now" he cut in before she could get her apology out, causing her to go silent.

He continued to watch her as her eyes stared anywhere but at him before he finally heard the crack of her voice, "This is really hard for me..." she trailed slightly, "I'm confused about everything, but I know I stepped out of line last night." She finally looked at him, diverting her eyes quickly, "Could you put on a shirt?" she asked as the blush rose up her cheeks, before she continued "What you get up to isn't really any of my business, as your house guest I shouldn't and don't have a right to ask you personal questions."

"Are we really playing this game again Granger?" he stood from the chair he was sat, walking around the desk to lean next to her. "Blaise was here with the transfer papers for the account," he decided to change the subject, "And I'm hoping to be able to speak with Lord Ardenbrook tonight, go over the finer details and such."

"Thank you" her meek voice said, "I appreciate it, it may not be that obvious at the moment but I do appreciate it"

"I have been thinking about last night" he admitted as he stared away from her for a while, "I mean, I spent the whole of last night thinking about it," he placed a finger on her lip as he saw her go to speak, "Let me finish." He sighed, and Hermione noticed how the muscles in his pectorals shifted with the action, "I know it was a defensive mechanism from you, I know you've had a lot to deal with this past week, so I don't want to push you into anything, this is me backing off" he lifted his hands in a surrendering motion.

Hermione sat there shocked for a few spare moments, he was backing off? Her eye brows furrowed as she thought. His advances had made her feel young at heart again, would they stop? Would she be unable to look him in the eye without flushing a violent shade of red? "I'm not sure I want you to" she finally succumbed to saying.

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**A/N: Edited on 15/09/12**


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: Chapter 30 has been edited, please re-read or it may get confusing

Chapter 31

"I'm not sure what you want from me then" he stated, "I've been honest with you, I've tried helping you, I-" he paused momentarily thinking, "I feel as if we are just going around in circles, pussy-footing around one another"

Hermione nodded taking in his thoughts and attempting to process them without get muddled "You have only just broken up with your Husband, it's unfair on both of us to expect anything at this moment in time. I think maybe we're rushing it, we need to take a step back, we both have admitted we have feelings, too many emotions are playing a part here, so I propose we postpone whatever is going to happen until it feels right."

She looked to her lap and the thumbs she was twiddling there, "I'm scared" she finally admitted feeling like a weight had been taken off her chest.

And it was that one statement that caused Draco Lucius Malfoy to stop worrying about his own feelings, and look at the woman in front of him, truly look at her, a time in which he could see the bags forming under her eyes, no matter the glamour charms she had used, he could hear the meekness in her voice, that subtle vulnerability how she sounded like a mewing cat rather than a ferocious lioness. The way she must have been nibbling on her nails in worry, seeing the few jagged edges to the keratin fibres of her nails.

With this sudden realisation he couldn't prevent himself from his next actions, as he pulled the brunette from the seat and into his waiting arms, accommodating her as close to his body as he could, and just as he was about to speak a voice shouted from the locker room, "Malfoy get a move on, we're about to be called out- you're the last one in here!"

Draco sighed, breathing deeply through his nose, breathing in the scent that was uniquely Hermione, a raspberry aroma tinged with lavender and rosewood. "You should get going" Her muffled voice finally spoke, causing a warm breeze to flitter across his still naked chest.

The blond pulled back to look in the brunette's eyes, nodding his head once, "I should" he agreed, but he had more pressing matters, "But are you okay?"

"I'm a big girl now Malfoy"

He nodded his head, "I know you are, but I can see behind your facade" he shrugged, "I'm here for you"

She forced a weak smile, "Go, before they send a search party" she pushed him in the direction of the door, and as he reached for the handle she spoke again, "Oh and Draco..."

"Hmm?"

"Win for us"

"I will Princess, I'll see you after the game" And with that he pulled his number eleven jersey over his head, Hermione following him as he walked into the main locker room grabbing his arm and shin guards as he sat down fixing them into place, before placing his fingerless gloves on, and picking his cape off the hook it was hanging.

He grabbed his broom from the rack at the door before the pair of them were stood outside the room, where Daphne re-emerged following her earlier escape. Draco gave a single wink to Hermione before he was walking down the corridor towards the players tunnel, leaving the two women to amble back to the private box in the stands.

The whispers of Daphne echoing lightly down the walls as he went, "So you two are okay then?"

-DMHG-

_-Four hours later-_

"I thought I'd find you here" Hermione's head snapped around startled at the sound of Draco's voice, to find the blond wearing his black overcoat, stood a few metres away from the bench she was sat.

"How did you know where I was?"

He signalled next to the empty bench seat adjacent to Hermione, to which she nodded, "Lucky guess really, this is where you were last week, I assumed you'd come back to your sanctuary if you were upset" he spoke as he sat next to the brunette.

"I'm not upset" she clarified.

"Just thinking things through then?"

She nodded, wrapping her own coat tighter around her frame "Nobody, well except yourself, knows about this place, or how often I come here" Hermione looked amongst the headstones you could see throughout the field, "I just miss them in times like this". There was a few minutes of silence as the pair just sat there enjoying each other's company, before Hermione spoke again, "Congratulations on the win by the way"

"Thank you" Draco turned towards Hermione, "Rose enjoyed it as well, she gave me an in depth analysis of what she saw" he laughed lightly, "She even told me I blind side going anticlockwise around the pitch" He shook his head, "I was thinking if you don't mind, next weekend, I can teach Rose to fly, it would be good for her to have some idea before she goes to Hogwarts."

Hermione nodded distractedly, "I'm sure she'd love it"

"Granger?" she turned towards Draco arching her eyebrow, "Speak to me, your clearly distracted, and small chit-chat is not getting us anywhere"

"I'm just thinking how much my life has changed in this one week, my husband has been having an affair for goodness knows exactly how long, I've realised that my savings are no more- and that said husband has spent them. And to top it off I have to go to this gala, put on a show for everyone, when to be honest all I want to do is curl up with a book, may be some chocolate, and let all my emotions go." She lifted her face from looking at the ground, "I so badly just want to cry"

"You can do that tomorrow- I'll take Rose with me and Scorpius to Diagon Alley, or at least keep her out of your hair, and you can have a day to yourself"

"Draco you've known me for a long time, how often have you seen me let my emotions out?"

"Touché" he conceded. "There are other ways to relax, the manor is a rife with pleasurable activities to partake in" he let his inneuendo filled sentence hang in the air, as he continued to silently watch the brunette.

After a few spare minutes of silence, Draco stood, holding his hand out to Hermione, "Come. We need to get ready for tonight, and we both know how long it can take you to tame that wild thing you call hair"

Hermione's eyebrow arched, "Yes, Mister my tie is skew-whiff I must re-do it a million times!" He smirked in reply before he apparated them back to Malfoy Manor

-One hour, forty-seven minutes later-

Draco found himself sat in one of the leather bound chairs of the Manor's travelling room, a glass of fire whiskey perched precariously between two fingers of his right hand, his eyes staring into the flames of the hearth.

"Father?" Scorpius spoke from the doorway, and Draco immediately span around in the chair, stopping facing his only child. "This stupid thing won't tie!" he huffed trying to tie the bowtie his father had insisted he had to wear.

"Just leave it for now Scorpius" the young boy huffed again leaving the black material resting over his shoulders, as he took a seat on the settee next to the chair Draco was sat. "Scorpius I have a request of you this evening"

The younger blond looked towards his father, "Yes father, I know, don't let Amando drag me into any pranks or show you up, Grandfather already told me"

Draco smirked, "Actually I was going to say keep an eye on Rose"

"I'm sure Amando will do that perfectly fine on his own..." Scorpius commented, trailing the end of his sentence off.

But before Draco could comment on what his Son meant the door to the Travelling room opened and in walked the aforementioned Rose, her strawberry blonde hair falling in small waves down her neck to her forest green dress, and it was as Draco looked closer his mouth dropped open unceremoniously, for behind Rose was the picture of perfection- in Draco's eyes, and no doubt many other men's that evening- her Mother. The first thing that sprung to Draco's mind was Pansy's words the other day- that dress was made for her!

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**A/N: **A short chapter before the Ball, which will be the next chapter... Expect tension, shouting, and may be a punch or two, who knows?**  
**Thanks for reading, until the next installment, Scorpio219


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